Snake Boy
by Random Dispatcher
Summary: Abandoned by the Dursleys at the age of four, Harry is raised by a magical serpent called a Syren. What happens when he decides the Dark Lord is the only one who can help him ‘get hatchlings’? ChallengeFic. COMPLETE! HPLV
1. Abandoned

**Snake Boy**

This is for Aenigma's "The Child of Serpent" challenge listed on TheSilverSnitch which goes a little somethin' like this:

**SUMMARY:**  
Harry was abandoned by the Dursleys at the tender age of four, and a magical serpent took him in and brought him up. He grows into a wild child that only understands parseltongue, wants to be a real snake and dislikes human beings in general. And when he decides that a certain Dark Lord should be his prospective mate,all Hell breaks out.

**INFORMATION: **  
# The magical serpent that adopts Harry, it could be literal a magical serpent, or it could be a basilisk, a cockatrice, an occamy, a tatzelwurm or even a runespoor, whatever you like if it takes a snake form or was part-snake.

**RULES: **  
# Harry has to learn to become an Animagus - whether by himself or from the others - and he chooses his animagus form to be a silver, or maybe black, serpent.  
# Voldemort would think Harry is just an unknown species of poisonous snake and take him as his new pet at first.  
# One scene in which Harry fiercely defends his master (or mate), whether be it physically or verbally - the former one was most likely but not absolutely - and whether in his animagus form or not.

**Chapter 1**

_Age four_.

The boy wriggled his way down the tunnel following the little voices.

"Hungry!"

"Want mice!"

"Want bird!"

The tunnel widened suddenly and the voices stopped.

"Hello?" The boy hoped he hadn't scared whoever they were away.

The voices started again, but they were high-pitched and panicky. He wished he could see, but it was very dark this far underground.

"Please don't be scared, I won't hurt you!"

"Who are you," one of them asked.

He had to think very hard. He knew he had a name, but he had heard it so rarely. "I'm Harry."

"Hairy? That's a funny name."

Something rubbed against his hand, making him jump.

"Well you do have hair, so I suppose it fits," the voice added.

"Who are you," Harry asked.

"I am Scales."

"It's nice to meet you Scales."

Harry heard a soft hiss. The other voices had been silent during their exchange.

"I wish I could see you. Are the others still here Scales?"

"Certainly. This is our nest and we are waiting for the one who hatched us."

"Oh…Are the others your brothers and sisters, then?"

Scales was quiet and then, "Yes. Clutch mates."

"Scales?"

"Yes, Hairy?"

"May I stay here for awhile? It's dark outside and I'm sleepy."

The other voices protested, sounding scared.

"Silence!" Scales shouted, as well as such a small voice could shout. The others immediately obeyed."Do you eat eggs Hairy?"

"Only if my Uncle gives them to me."

Scales was silent for a moment. "One of our clutch mates has not yet hatched, you will not eat her."

"Of course not!" Harry was shocked.

"Then you may stay until our mother returns. She will decide."

"Thank you, Scales."

The little voice didn't reply.

Harry moved into the cavern carefully. He could stand up but his hair rubbed in the dirt of the ceiling so he went back to his knees. He stopped when he found what felt like a large pile of feathers and sticks.

"Scales?"

"Yes Hairy?"

The little voice was right next to Harry in the pile. "Are you a bird?"

Harry heard all the little voices hissing and he thought it sounded strangely like laughter.

"No Hairy, we are Syrens."

"What's a Syren?"

Scales didn't answer so Harry lay down, curling into a ball for warmth.

"Hairy?"

"Yes?"

"Are you a bird?"

"No Scales, I'm a boy."

"I have never seen a boy."

"That's okay, Scales. I've never seen a Syren, and my Uncle says I'm not a proper boy anyway."

The little Syren was again silent so Harry laid his head back down.

"Goodnight Scales."

Harry woke when something tickled his face. Roughly he rubbed his hand over the spot and sat up.

"Scales?"

"I am here Hairy. Our mother is also here and she will speak with you now."

"My hatchling tells me you desire to stay in my nest."

Harry bit his lip. "Yes."

"Why?"

"My nest mates said I couldn't stay with them anymore. They said they didn't want Dudley catching my freaky-ness."

"Freaky-ness?"

"Sometimes things happen when I get mad or when I cry. One time all the dishes in the kitchen broke at the same time when I was crying in my cupboard."

"Ahhh. You are a Wizard."

"What's that?"

"A person who can do magic."

"Magic?"

"Yes, and you must be a special Wizard indeed to speak the snake-tongue."

"Oh."

Harry absorbed this new information.

"Are you a snake then?"

"Of a sort; Syrens are a mix of bird and snake, but mostly snake."

"Oh...So may I stay with you?"

"Yes young one."


	2. Syren

**Snake Boy**

**Chapter 2**

_Three years later, age seven._

The light was fading but Harry knew there were several pieces of chicken in this trash can. He'd watched that family all afternoon as they'd had the largest picnic basket out of all the visitors to the nature preserve today. The amount of food they alone had thrown away would feed him for a week.

"No baby mice this week," Harry hissed to himself, relieved, as he finally found his prize. When there was no food for Harry to scrounge for himself, his family would hunt for him and due to his human teeth, mice were the easiest thing to eat. The babies were small enough to swallow whole, but they squirmed a lot. The adults were also swallowed but he had to cut them in half with an old axe head he'd found last summer.

He wasn't adverse to raw mouse but given a choice…

"Oi William, what have we got 'ere?"

"A tasty morsel to be sure, Jink."

Harry looked up in shock and no little fear. He couldn't understand many of the two men's words but their tone made the fine hairs on his bare arms stand up. Nervously he got to his feet, wiping his hands on the denim shorts he'd nicked from an inattentive swimmer.

"We can have a little fun after we clean him up, and then to Knockturn with 'em. A pretty little thing like him will fetch a nice price."

Harry was backing away slowly when the larger man, who had spoken the most, snagged his arm in a crushing grip. The boy couldn't stop the small scream from escaping as the men tugged him away from the trash can and the safety of the forest.

His struggles became fiercer the further away he was pulled until he was screaming full out, kicking and hitting with his free arm.

"Shut him up William!" the smaller man complained.

William slapped the boy with his free hand, knocking his head back and splitting his top lip.

"William," Jink hissed, "look at 'is forehead!"

Harry blinked dazedly as the hulk turned back to him.

"It's Harry Potter!"

"Forget Knockturn, William, do you have any idea what we could get for finding the Boy-Who-Lived? We'll be rich!"

"An' famous." William was smiling when he said this but then he frowned. "But that means we can't have no fun with 'im."

Jink slapped the man's shoulder. "After this you can have all the boys you want! The Knockturn gents will be throwing them at your feet just so's they can say the savior of the savior was there!"

"I guess." He looked disappointed but started pulling Harry again.

Harry, aware once again of what was happening, stretched up and bit the arm holding him, his teeth sliding into the mans flesh until they met with an audible click. It was Williams turn to scream as he jerked away from the child. Balling a fist, he punched Harry in the face, knocking the small boy into some bushes.

He lay there, once again dazed, listening to the men talk. He couldn't seem to make his body work.

"I am here, Hairy."

He could barely make out the shape of his smallest sister, a pygmy Syren, through the black spots in his vision. He felt her wind her way up onto his hip to await his attacker. Seconds later the bushes rattled."

"I'll teach ya, ya little bastard!"

"But Will!"

Harry squeezed his eyes shut feeling the movement of Oma's strike. With a 'crash' and a 'thump', a corpse landed on Harry's legs.

He screeched hysterically, frantically kicking his way out from under the weight and upsetting Oma in the process.

There was a loud 'pop' but Harry was beyond anything resembling rational thought. He couldn't hear Oma calling his name, or see that William no longer posed a threat. He only knew he had to get away, had to get back to his mother.

He bolted back to the nest, sobbing and wailing; falling several times, unknowingly skinning his hands, elbows and knees.

Celeste was shocked by her son's appearance but nonetheless quickly wrapped herself around the boy, hissing comforting nothings.

Moments later, a panting Oma slithered into the nest and quietly relayed the afternoon's events to their mother.

"My Hairy, what can I do Hairy? What can I do?" She hadn't expected an answer, but the hysterical boy screamed, "I don't wanna be a boy no more!"

All of Harry's brothers and sisters circled around him, fitting themselves where they could. Celeste swayed back and forth while the boy chanted "I don't wanna be a boy no more," over and over in between ragged sobs until he fell into an exhausted sleep.

* * *

Celeste woke from her doze when Harry began squirming in her coils. She shifted, giving the boy more room, when she felt his body heat up. Alarmed she called his name but got no response. 

Then he began to glow.

Celeste blinked, and in that split second, Harry was replaced by a beautiful young male Syren. Cautiously she scented him. It tasted like her Hairy…

Gently she nudged him with the tip of her nose.

"Hairy?"

He grunted and rolled over, dislodging several of his siblings. Their grumbling changed to stunned silence when they climbed back over their mother's coils and saw the transformation.

She nudged him again. "Hairy, wake up now."

Slowly his eyes opened and Celeste was happy to see brilliant green instead of silver.

"M'tired," he complained.

"I know, My Hairy, but I need you to look at yourself."

He looked down and then back to her.

"Why? What's wrong?"

Celeste watched as his eyes grew wide before he looked down again.

"I'm a Syren!"

Celeste nodded her head as the entire nest came to life. All of her hatchlings converged on the boy, scenting him and rubbing against his new scales. Their excited hissing reached heights not heard since Harry's first arrival in their lives.

"You're even bigger than me," Scales exclaimed. Scales was the largest of the hatchlings and Celeste knew he would be considered a giant among their kind when he was fully grown. And indeed her Wizard-ling was large for a Syren but she attributed that to his being a Wizard instead of a natural Syren.

She would have to see about enlarging their nest. With two such large males, and she herself was not small, they would need considerably more space before her babies were out on their own. For now she was happy to hear her little Hairy laughing and playing with his family.

* * *

Celeste left the nest to her rambunctious hatchlings to hunt. It was nearly dawn and birds would be the most bountiful. Harry's new shape would make keeping him fed so much easier. As he had grown the Syren had become more and more concerned. It had been hard enough finding the rather large amount of mammalian prey required by a growing human when he had first appeared – and the amount had only grown. It had been too unsafe for him to eat birds, which were the Syren's primary food source. That, thankfully, would no longer be an issue. 

She had observed him during the last three winters and knew her gentle Wizard-ling would give part of his food to his nest mates who had had no luck hunting that day. She detested the need that sent the boy into trash cans – scavenging for leavings. Syrens and Wizards alike were hunters, not scavengers and it sickened her that her hatchling would be reduced to such low behavior, but it had been necessary.

Now, though, now it felt like a great burden had been lifted from her. She basked in the feeling as she climbed a tree to await prey. No more worrying about Harry getting enough food, no more worrying about the humans or Wizards trying to take her hatchling. Now she could enjoy just being with her children.

* * *

She caught several birds, stashing them in the vee of a tree branch until she had enough for her nest. Her brood would have to stay close to their nest for a few days as the forest was positively crawling with Wizards now. She had nearly been stepped on three times! 

In particular she had noticed a dark haired Wizard, all in black with an interesting nose, and another rather ridiculously dressed Wizard with a long white beard. They seemed to be directing the invasion of her forest and that evening when she again ventured out, they were still searching. She laughed quietly to herself at the futility of their actions.

* * *

For a solid week Celeste kept her children in the nest while the Wizards wreaked havoc in the forest. Harry had become overwrought again when he had heard about them being so close, but the security of his new form helped the family calm him down again. 

Finally they were gone and Celeste couldn't help the rather un-Syren-like sigh of relief as her children dashed out of the nest to play and hunt. She climbed to the top of the tree that roofed their nest and basked in the sun. The height of the tree allowed her to both listen and see the goings on of the forest, as well as letting her fly quickly if any of her family needed help.

Quite frankly if the Wizards hadn't left on their own she was likely to have gone on a killing spree. Being trapped in a small nest with seven rambunctious young Syrens and a semi-hysterical Wizard-ling was a trying experience for short spans of time, but a week! Celeste had been at her wit's end this morning as she'd scouted the deserted forest.

Thank the Winds she could breathe a bit now.


	3. Empty Nest

**Snake Boy**

**Chapter 3**

_Nine years later, age sixteen._

"I'll be all alone soon, Mother."

"Nonsense," Celeste hissed.

"Oma is the last of your hatchlings and she's leaving today to find herself a Wizard. As soon as she does, you'll be off as well."

"Harry, you are my hatchling too."

The Syren boy just lay dejectedly in the dirt at the nests' entrance waiting for his sister to return from hunting.

As a pygmy Syren, Oma was incapable of reproducing the normal way. Celeste was unsure of the specifics, only that Oma would have to become a Wizards' familiar and that the Wizards' magic would allow her to bear young without the normal male component.

First she would have to search out a Wizard whose magic was compatible with hers and today was the day she would start her search.

Harry sighed again. "When will you be leaving Mother?"

Celeste hissed angrily and the green eyed Syren turned to her in shock. His mother was rarely angry and never with him. She was coiled outside the nest keeping vigil with him and now, as he watched, she stretched out her fifteen foot length in indignation unfurling her bat like wings. Her snow-white scales gleamed in the sun and the matching feathers covering the delicate wing bones stood up with her agitation.

Harry stared in awe.

"You will cease this ridiculous behavior this instant! You are my son in every way; you are my hatchling and as such I will not be leaving this nest or you until you are happily mated!" The majestic Syren lowered her head in misery, "Or do you not wish for me to be your mother?"

Harry gasped and slithered immediately to her. "No! No! Not at all! Don't even think that! I love you!"

He watched as her wings folded back up and magically sealed themselves inside her body, leaving behind only a feather soft patch of scales.

She lowered her head further, refusing to look at him, "Well, what else am I to think? You lie there like that and ask me such hurtful questions?"

Harry wrapped himself tightly around the distressed female. "I'm sorry Mother, truly. I'll stop being a prat, I swear."

Celeste smiled and the Wizard-ling noticed she looked a little too pleased with herself.

"You got me, didn't you mother."

"Yes dear. Feel better?"

Harry laughed, "Thank you."

"Anytime."


	4. Familiar

**Snake Boy**

**Chapter 4**

Oma lay curled in some rubbish at the mouth of a dark alley. There were many Wizards and Witches bustling about here and she felt she'd have no problem finding herself a suitable match – if that had been why she was here.

Oh, she'd get around to that eventually, but for now her goal was simple: find out why the Wizards wanted her Harry. She and her mother had discussed it before she left. Her brother was a Wizard, and as such needed to be among his own kind so he could find a suitable mate. Although if it were possible for a Syren and a Wizard to breed Oma wouldn't turn him down, he was quite a handsome specimen when you thought about it. Unfortunately as far as she or her mother knew, it wasn't possible.

Celeste wouldn't have been concerned about the Wizards looking for Harry if they had only appeared after Oma had killed the one that struck her brother. But that was not the only time they'd searched the forest, before or since. Her mother had told the pygmy many of her concerns and suspicions before Oma had agreed to make this journey. The Wizards were looking for a boy called Harry Potter and the description Celeste had overheard matched their Harry.

Oma had not known it but in the first season Harry was with them the Wizards had searched the Syren's forest no less than twelve different times, almost once every moon. Luckily Harry had been kept in the nest with the rest of the hatchlings since the Syrens were too small to wander until they were almost a full two seasons old.

Celeste had confided that she had almost sent Harry back to the Wizards but when she had observed them searching and listened to them talk, no one had mentioned a home for the boy or where his parents were. Not one of them had smelled like Harry or seemed to know anything about him other than his description. They had commented that he _must_ be found but not why. She had not liked the feelings she got around them and kept the boy.

So here she was, trying to understand all the noises issuing out of the people's mouths. Her biggest obstacle so far was that she didn't understand their language. She'd been here a little over a month and made no progress whatsoever.

Oma hissed in frustration. Her mother understood them, but couldn't remember how she'd learned.

Celeste had said she'd been a Wizard's familiar for a long time. She'd become a familiar as some sort of lark apparently, as she was a normal Syren and had only to mate with another normal male Syren to reproduce. The Wizard had liked to read to his 'pet' and Celeste had just understood.

A flash of silver caught her eye, ending her reverie, and the pygmy Syren beheld a most fascinating sight. A young Wizard, maybe the same age as her Harry, was walking down the busy street. He was wearing gray robes that made his silver eyes look like liquid mercury. His skin and hair were so pale he was as if snow personified. He could have been a Syren but for the lack of scales…

Intrigued, she carefully followed the boy. She passed unnoticed through the throng thanks to her incredible speed and the human tendency to not look down. Lurking in alleys and sewer drains, she watched him flit from place to place. He bought a few small things but it seemed as if he had no actual goal in mind.

Occasionally he would pull a small silver object from his pocket, look at it, and then replace it. She supposed it was a little after midday when he looked at the object and smiled tightly. He put the object in his pocket and headed into an alley – the very alley she was lurking in.

She tried to back away but was unsure of what she should do and then he was _there_.

* * *

Draco stopped a mere foot into the alley. There at his feet lay a snow white snake with silver eyes looking just as shocked as he felt. It was a bit comical really, seeing shock on a serpent's face, he had always thought snakes were incapable of emotion.

It was a small snake really, only about five feet long he supposed. It looked carefully up at him, considering, and then cautiously slithered closer.

Draco stayed still. He'd never been particularly fond of snakes, preferring the birds of prey in his father's mews, but something…something fascinated him about her. Somehow he knew it was a she.

She looked up again after scenting the air around him and Draco found himself reaching down slowly. He held his hand in front of her and waited.

Just as slowly the serpent stretched forward and twined around his arm. He turned his head to watch as she moved up and settled around his shoulders.

"Merlin!" he gasped, catching himself against the brick wall of the alley as his magic surged. When it settled again he stared at the snake in wonder.

"Oma. Your name is Oma," he said.

She nodded regally.

Draco felt himself smile, a full out smile that was wholly inappropriate in public, but he couldn't stop himself. He had his familiar and it just felt so _good_. In the back of his head he could feel the bond that had formed. It allowed him to feel what Oma was feeling – and she was feeling immensely pleased.

His father would also be pleased. Finding a true familiar so young was rare and Draco would be the only current Hogwarts student to have one. Oh the school rules permitted all students to bring so-called familiars, but they were really just magical pets – teaching children how to care for their future familiars, if they were fortunate enough to attract one.

Thinking of his father made Draco curse. He yanked at his pocket watch just as he heard the 'pop' of a Wizard apparating into the alley. Jerking around he came face to face with man in question.

"Draco," Lucius snapped.

"I am sorry Father, something…came up."

The elder Malfoy's eyes narrowed. "What, pray tell, is that around your neck?"

Draco couldn't stop the smile as he gently stroked the serpent's head. "This is Oma, my familiar."

He watched his father cock his head to the side, a small smirk of approval appearing.

"Do you know what kind of creature she is," he asked.

Draco closed his eyes and waited for the information to come to him. The bond implanted basic knowledge of the familiar so that the Wizard could care for it properly.

"She is…a Syren…highly venomous…very fast…" His eyes snapped open in shock, "She has wings and can fly!"

"Intriguing." Lucius considered the serpent and she studied him in return just as intently. "I am proud of you son. Now come. We are late; hopefully your achievement will…divert our host from our tardiness."

Draco went from beaming with happiness at his fathers compliment to pale and rather nauseous, quickly apparating to Malfoy Manor.

* * *

Oma was ecstatic. Not only had she found her Wizard, but her biggest obstacle to learning about Harry and his pursuers were gone. As soon as she had bonded with Draco she had understood the Wizard's tongue, easily following the conversation between Draco and his father. Now they were going to meet more Wizards, powerful ones at that, if she was interpreting the feelings coming through the bond correctly.

With a little luck she'd have her brother happily mated by the end of the season!


	5. The Dark Lord

_A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! (dairygirl, Irihi Safaia, MaraWeaves, HoshiHikari, laimerkian, Yami no Kaze, fudgebaby, Sweet-single, Giara Gryffindor, Aingeal1, Nickole Riddle, and Schnickledooger). And to answer questions – yes, Oma is now Draco's familiar and Harry has been sixteen since the beginning of chapter 3._

_Someone asked about a similar story and the only other one I've read (which was also pretty darn inspiring) is called Serpentine by Zephyr5 on FanFiction net._

**Snake Boy**

**Chapter 5**

"Ah Lucius, so nice of you to join us."

The elder Malfoy bowed low, mirrored by his son.

"Apologies, My Lord, my son bonded with his familiar only a few moments ago, unavoidably delaying us."

"Interesting. Step forward boy."

The Dark Lord watched, quietly amused, as the young blonde approached. The boy was doing a credible imitation of his father's disdainful mask, but Tom could see the fear lucking behind his mercury eyes. The boy bowed again, holding the pose until he was acknowledged.

"Draco Malfoy. Your father has spoken highly of you."

The boy nodded at the praise, a small smile flitting across his pale features.

"Tell me of your find."

Tom watched the boy stroke the serpents head. He was a bit taken aback by the intense scrutiny the serpent was giving him.

"Her name is Oma, My Lord. She's a Syren – a pygmy Syren – and I came across her in a Diagon Alley side street."

"A pygmy Siren? I am impressed Draco. Syrens are exceptionally rare creatures in their own right, but pygmies appear maybe once every few hundred years. I hope you appreciate the gift you have been given."

The smiled again, a bit more relaxed.

"From what little I've learned of her, My Lord, I doubt Oma would accept anything less than complete adoration on my part."

Tom chuckled. He couldn't help it; the Malfoy heir was an imp.

"Greetings, Oma," he hissed in parseltongue. The Syren's eyes widened a bit.

"Greetings, Wizard."

"You may call me Tom. I hope that we will become friends."

She nodded. "Tom then. You are the leader here?"

"Yes. Draco's father is one of my most loyal and trusted followers. I look for your young Wizard to follow in his footsteps."

"We shall see, Tom."

The Dark Lord was considering the implications of her words when he felt Nagini slide into his lap.

"Insolent wretch," she hissed at the Syren. "You will address my Master as Lord! You and that horrid child of yours should be groveling at his feet, begging for your miserable lives."

"Nagini!" Tom hissed, shocked by the Cobra's behavior.

Oma reared up, "You will not speak of Draco in such a manner!"

"And what will you do about it peasant?"

"How dare you call me peasant, you ignorant lizard," Nagini hissed at the insult, flaring her hood, "Syrens are second only to Dragons. Even the mighty Basilisk shows its respect to me and mine. But you are too ignorant to know anything other than how to squeak like the pathetic mouse you are!"

Tom tried to grab the Cobra, but she leapt at the boy and Syren.

Draco stumbled back as Oma released her wings and sprang into the air.

"You go too far mouse, you have threatened my Wizard and you shall die!"

Nagini coiled and struck but Oma dodged with ease, laughing at her attempts.

Tom watched the conflict in horror but could do nothing to stop it. He knew Oma had been willing to let the insults slide even though she'd been within her rights to strike the cobra the minute Nagini had entered the room and failed to give her obeisance. She'd gone too far leaping at Draco, however, and Tom knew he was about to lose his long time friend.

Oma hovered, taunting the Cobra. Nagini struck again, getting close, when the Syren fluttered her wings in such a way as to flip in mid air, her fangs sinking deep behind the flared hood shooting venom deeply into the bloodstream.

And then it was over. His companion for the last thirty-odd years lay dead at his feet.

Draco fell to his knees, gathering the little Syren up against his stomach. He bowed low over her, hiding the serpent and stuttering his apologies.

Tom looked around the throne room seeing the fear, and in Lucius' case terror, written so clearly on their faces.

He stood and Draco fell silent. The whole room was deathly quiet as the Dark Lord stepped down from the throne and gathered up Nagini's corpse.

"It is alright Draco, Lucius. Oma is not at fault. In fact she was rather forgiving. Nagini picked the fight and threatened you Draco…I must ask your forgiveness young Malfoy. I should have realized Nagini's instability might lead to something like this and prevented it. I will endeavor to correct this breach of honor to your family. You are guests in my home and my familiar…"

Tom stopped. The emptiness in the back of his head where the bond with Nagini had been ached. His whole body ached.

"If you will excuse me gentlemen."

The assembled "Death Eaters" as they had been called, nodded and Tom tried to ignore their expressions of fear and uncertainty. He hated this, hated what had been done to him and what he had in turn done to his followers. These men had loved him, once upon a time, regaining their trust would take a long time, if it was even possible at this late date.

He made his way to his private chambers, the cobra's body cradled in his arms and his Potions Master, Severus Snape, following silently.

"Shall I summon Poppy, My Lord?" the dour man asked quietly.

"Are we back to that Severus?"

"I am sorry Tom. Losing a familiar is not an easy thing under the best of circumstances, and these are certainly not those."

The Dark Lord sighed, standing uncertainly in the middle of the room feeling lost and not a little bit scared. He was unfamiliar with such feelings and was ill equipped to deal with them.

* * *

Severus Snape watched his Lord anxiously. This was a delicate time for the Wizard and a loss such as this could destroy all the progress they had made in the last year.

Seeing his indecision, Severus quietly summoned a house elf. It disappeared after receiving whispered instructions and reappeared a few minutes latter bearing what resembled a hat box.

The Potions Master took the box, dismissing the elf and moved to the small dining table near the fireplace.

"Come Tom, I have something for you."

Tom shuffled over, his face starting to go from confused to blank. Severus cursed under his breath as he opened the box. Tom hadn't had one of his catatonic episodes in almost six months and if he had one now, after such a trauma, he might not wake up again.

From the box he pulled a heavily carved black marble urn with an equally carved lid and placed it gently on the table. A small spark of interest entered Tom's brown eyes making the darker man sigh in relief.

"This is beautiful Severus, wherever did you find it?"

"I came across it last year in Egypt. It is a funerary jar, generally used for feline familiars, but in this case all the carvings were of serpents. The seller told me that when the remains are placed inside, a miniature of the creature will appear at the base of the jar. It serves as a sort of Wizard's portrait only more so, having all the memories of the animal up to the point of death. The miniature will be able to move all over the jar, but not off of it."

Tom lovingly caressed the carvings and hieroglyphs. "This must have cost you a small fortune."

Severus snorted. "Not in the least. Apparently since most Wizards cannot speak to their animal companions as you can, they see no need in such an item. I think I got an excellent bargain." He looked up and saw his friend studying him.

"Why?"

Severus looked down. "When you started getting better it became evident that she wasn't. I feared her death was inevitable and what it would do to you. I thought this might help."

The Dark Lord gave a nod and a small smile. Removing the lid, he fed Nagini's tail into the opening, slowly lowering the rest of her body as the magic of the small jar accommodated her eight foot length. He kissed the top of her head before releasing her fully into the jar and closing the lid. The vessel glowed black and then, as promised, a two-inch replica of his familiar appeared at the base.

"Hello Nagini," he hissed to the marble serpent.

"Greetings, My Lord," she replied.

"I miss you."

She nodded, "I am sorry my illness has brought us to this, my Tom."

He smiled sadly, "It feels like forever since you have called me that."

"I think the urn has allowed my memories from before the sickness to come to the fore. You do know I loved you, don't you Tom, even when I was no longer myself and couldn't tell you."

"Yes, my Nagini, I know." He ran a tired hand over his eyes. "I think I will rest now luv."

The little snake bowed and then coiled up. "Of course. I expect you to get well and avenge us."

Tom smiled again as the miniature Nagini went still, appearing as nothing more than another carving on the urn.

Severus had stayed quiet during the exchange, listening with satisfaction to the affectionate tones of the two.

"You have no idea what this means to me Severus," his Lord said, moving across the room and placing the urn on his bed side table. He sat on the bed and looked tiredly at his feet.

Severus quickly followed and knelt at the man's feet, pulling off his boots and socks.

"You don't have to do that…" he protested.

"Hush Tom, you are still recovering and need to rest. What did Nagini have to say?"

Tom grumbled about being treated like an invalid and then, "It seems the urn has given her back her sanity. It will be a great comfort to talk to her like I used to." Tom stood and Severus helped him remove his robes, "She asked me to avenge her."

The Potions Master froze. "Against Draco?"

"No, no Severus. Dumbledore was the one to set us on this path and it is Dumbledore who will pay – for _all_ of his sins."

Severus pulled back the blankets and Tom slowly climbed in.

After getting comfortable in the large bed, Tom summoned Lucius and Draco.

The blondes bowed and he was glad to see the fear was gone. Lucius looked concerned while Draco looked puzzled. Oma appeared to be asleep around the boy's neck.

"How goes your search Lucius?"

"We've only just started casting _inquisito corpus_ in Blackstone forest My Lord…so far nothing has been found."

"I suppose that is good news. I do not really think he's dead, I do not think I would have been able to recover if he was, but why can we not find him? Why do I feel such certainty that he is in Blackstone?"

"Blackstone?" Oma hissed, raising her head. "What interests you about Blackstone?"

"Do you know of it little Syren?" Tom asked.

"I grew up there."

Tom leaned forward anxiously. "Perhaps you can tell me then, we have been searching for a boy, the same age as your Draco only with darker hair and green eyes. His name is Harry Potter and we think he may be hiding in the forest."

In the blink of an eye Oma left Draco's shoulder and was coiled only inches from the Dark Lord. Severus stood, thinking she intended to strike but Tom help up a hand as she spoke.

"Why do you seek this boy Tom, and what would he be hiding from?"

The Potions Master watched Tom thinking and knew that he was being very careful in what he said to the dangerous creature before him.

"I know that his parents were killed and that the relatives he was sent to live with were very cruel to him. They abandoned him in that forest when he was a very small boy. I wish to find him because…because he is my mate."


	6. Family Meeting

_A/N: If you haven't figured out this is Slash yet, you obviously haven't been actually reading the thing…….Thanks everyone who reviewed!_

**Snake Boy**

**Chapter 6**

It had been six months since Oma had left to find her Wizard and Harry missed her horribly. He had wanted to be that person for her but their magic just hadn't meshed.

He lay in the tree above the nest unabashedly moping. He couldn't help it. He hadn't been alone for more than a few minutes for the last eleven winters. At times he had longed for solitude; how could he not with seven siblings and a very overprotective mother. Six months, however, with only said overprotective mother was a bit much to his way of thinking.

He'd give his right wing to have Scales, or any of them, trying to knock him out of this tree. Granted Scales and his mother were the only ones large enough to do it anymore, and she had indulged in the game a time or five.

He sighed. He should go back to the nest, it _was_ very cold. Since he was not a true serpent he could take the cold a lot longer but he still had limits. There was about two feet of snow on the ground and he had been bemoaning his solitude for over an hour.

Slithering down the tree he prepared himself for the inevitable tongue lashing he was about to receive, and the probable tail lashing; and if Celeste was very annoyed maybe even a wing lashing.

Entering the nest he cringed at his mother's annoyed, "Are you quite done with your little pity party?"

"Yes ma'am."

She chuckled at his sheepish tone.

"I have a surprise for you."

"Oh?"

"Hello Brother!" Oma's delicate head popped up from behind his mother's coiled bulk.

"You're back!"

"I told you I would be, you wretch."

Harry launched himself at the pair, laughing, and entwined himself around them.

"I missed you so much!"

"I can tell."

"And did you find your Wizard?"

"Of course."

"Really? So quickly? Can I meet him?"

"Yes, yes, and…yes."

"Really?" he asked again, turning to his mother for confirmation.

"Yes, my Hairy. I would have us meet this Draco Oma has been telling me about, and this Tom."

"Tom?" Harry asked.

"Yes. Oma tells me he is like you in many ways Hairy. He is a parselmouth; only the second I've heard of in the last two hundred winters."

"Two-hun…What? Just how old are you Mother?" Oma asked.

"Two-hundred winters and two moons, of course."

"Of course." The two hatchlings muttered in unison.

"So why do you want me to meet this Tom, Mother?"

"You need a mate, my Hairy, a human mate and this Wizard already has one important thing in common with you. Perhaps you will find other things you like about him."

"Can Wizards mate with Wizards? Don't they need females?" Harry wondered.

"It is quite common for two Wizards to build a nest together. Sometimes females will nest with other females as well but not often. In the Wizarding world there are many more males than females."

"And they can still have hatchlings? You know I want many hatchlings."

"Yes Hairy," Oma answered this time. "I'm not sure exactly how it works yet but they can have hatchlings. In fact there are a few Wizards with such nests that visit Tom frequently. You will be able to meet them and their hatchlings."

Harry was still nervous about the whole thing.

"Well if you're sure about this I'll go. But I'm not promising to like this Tom, or any other Wizard for that matter, okay?

"Of course Hairy," Celeste hissed, "Of course."


	7. Ultimatum

**Snake Boy**

**Chapter 7**

Tom drummed his fingers impatiently on the arm of this throne. The Malfoys would be arriving any minute. Lucius would regretfully tell him he hadn't found anything and then Draco would sit quietly while Tom interrogated his familiar.

Oma was driving him insane bit by bit – and he should know, he'd been crazy for a little over twenty years. The Syren would ask him about Wizards in general, Harry Potter in particular and the war brewing in their world while skillfully evading his own questions.

She gave him pieces of crumbs, hints of innuendo, nothing to work with and nothing that even proved she knew anything at all except for the look in her eyes and his instincts.

The door to the throne room opened but instead of the Malfoys, a rather large Syren entered, slithering regally into the chamber. Knowing something important was going to happen, Tom stood and bowed.

"I am Celeste, Mother to Oma."

Tom straightened, "Welcome to my home, Great Lady, you honor us greatly."

Nodding again she coiled while the Dark Lord reclaimed his seat.

"I understand you are searching for a boy left in my forest some years ago."

Tom leaned forward, "Yes, Great Lady. Can you tell me of him?"

She cocked her head to the side, examining him intently as she scented the air.

"He is alive and safe."

The Dark Lord trembled in relief. He was still composing himself when the door to the throne room once again opened admitting the male Malfoys, Oma, and a third Syren of a size with Celeste.

"My son…Frost…wishes to learn the ways of Wizards. He is considering becoming a familiar."

Harry nodded his head at the use of his assumed name; his own name would raise too much suspicion even in his Syren form.

"Frost and I will spend a moon in this place. You will not bar us from any part of this nest, nor attempt to deceive or avoid us. If you leave the nest you will inform us and will not stop us from accompanying you if we so choose. At the end of our stay we will return to Harry and tell him of our time here. It will then be his decision to join the Wizarding world or remain in hiding. If you do not abide by my terms we will leave immediately and you will never find us or the boy."

Celeste fell silent after delivering her ultimatum, watching and waiting.

At first all Tom felt was anger, an all consuming rage. 'How dare she? HOW DARE SHE!' The arms of his throne creaked under his hands, his knuckles white with strain. The urge to _Crucio_ the insolent serpent was nearly overwhelming.

A potion stained hand gripped his shoulder and Tom exhaled harshly, closing his eyes briefly while trying to reign in his emotions. When the last of his homicidal urges passed he opened his eyes and quickly drank the cup of water Severus handed him, knowing it was laced with a calming draught.

"I welcome you into my home, Great Lady, and will endeavor to assure you of my good intentions. It will also be an honor to educate your son in the ways of Wizards."

Celeste bowed her head, "We thank you, Tom."

The Dark Lord stood and approached the male Syren.

"Greetings, Frost."

"Greetings, Tom."

Reaching down, the Wizard held his arm out to the serpent and waited.

Frost scented the air around the Wizard before winding up the proffered arm and settling around his shoulders.

Tom felt his magic surge and he stumbled backwards onto the throne. He heard Snape cry out but could not answer him, caught up in the feel of his magic.

Bonding with Nagini all those years ago had been a memorable event but it was nothing like this. The bond exploded across his consciousness, setting his mind aflame with the awareness of Frost and that now the serpent was _his_. It was intoxicating but in his current state of health it was also exhausting.

He felt Frost slither to the floor when Lucius and Severus came to help him from the throne and practically carried him back to his bedchamber. He could barely keep his eyes open as the two men quickly stripped him. Tom wanted to protest when Lucius lifted him and placed him gently in the bed but could not summon the energy. He was only barely conscious of Frost joining him on the bed, and then nothing…


	8. Tiff

**Snake Boy**

**Chapter 8**

Tom slowly awoke and found his new green eyed familiar studying him intently.

"Good morning, Frost," he said softly.

"Good morning, Tom. Have you rested enough," the Syren inquired.

"I've slept enough, but I have a feeling I'll be stuck in this bed for the rest of the day no matter what I have to say on the mater."

"Why?"

"Snape, the dark haired Wizard from yesterday," at Frosts nod he continued, "has been caring for me since my illness and is rather over protective. Honestly between him and Poppy it's amazing I haven't been confined strictly to this bed for the last five years!"

"What made you ill?"

"That, my young friend, is a long story and I have a feeling that Severus is about to swoop down on us at any…"

The chamber doors opened and Severus did indeed 'swoop' down on the hissing pair, robes billowing. Tom shot a look to his familiar, rolling his eyes, prompting Frost to giggle-hiss.

"Good morning Tom! I trust you are done over exerting yourself and scaring the wits out of all your loyal followers. Or would you rather I just invite Dumbledore over for tea and we can just resolve everything today, hmmmm?"

"I take it you are upset with me Severus?"

The Potion Master snorted. "Upset? Why would I be upset? Just because you insist on pushing yourself to the point of collapse, why would I be upset? Just because you disregard everything Poppy and I tell you, _why would I be upset_?"

"Severus – "

"No Tom! You will not pat me on the head and send me off. I have always thought of you as my friend and I will not sit idly by while you run yourself into the grave – permanently this time."

The Wizard stood in the middle of Tom's bedroom, arms crossed. His head turned to the right showing only his profile to the man in the bed, chest heaving with his anger.

Tom sat up.

"Severus…I am truly sorry for putting you through this, for putting all of you through this. Yesterday was necessary my friend. You know as well as I that if we do not find the boy all of our efforts will have been for nothing."

The younger mans shoulders drooped but he did not face his friend.

"I hope if you've learned anything it was worth your collapse," he sneered.

"He's alive."

Snape's head snapped around, black eyes meeting brown.

"What?"

"He's alive, apparently safe, and if I convince the Syrens of my good intentions they will attempt to convince him to come to me."

Severus closed his eyes, running a hand over his pale features. A small smile appeared when he again opened his eyes.

"How long?"

"They will stay a month and then they will go to him. Thirty days Severus…it will be over soon."


	9. Explanations

_A/N: Once again, thanks to everyone who reviewed! (__Eva McGregor, ssjmiraitrks, __Xenia Black, __Kenny7, __Wolflady, __fudgebaby, __MSII, __MaraWeaves, __Sweet-single, __HoshiHikari, __Irihi Safaia,__ yuiop,__ Demonkitty2007, __Silver-Entrantress-Elf, __LoveHP, __Westerly, __Leia125, __Juushika, __neosildrake, __ailisa d. frieson, __PxW, __elvengoddess696, __Maryna, __Starr Light1, and __Blood-Red Pearl) I'm getting fat off of all the virtual gumdrops, crescent rolls and cough drops everyone's sending. _

_To answer questions – not sure how long this will be – it'll just keep going till it's done – this chapter should have been #8 but Snape decided to throw a hissy fit. Familiars do indeed automatically bond with a compatible Wizard because there is generally only one. This chapter will clarify Harry (Frost) and Tom's bond, even if Tom doesn't see it yet…_

**Snake Boy**

**Chapter 9**

After eating breakfast under Severus' watchful eye and consuming his daily potions, Tom lay back on the pillows.

"You are awfully quiet Frost, are you alright?"

"Yes Tom. Your friend seemed very angry with you."

"A little, but he was mostly worried. Did you not understand what he said?"

"No."

"Odd. When I bonded with my last familiar, my magic allowed her to understand English and from speaking with Oma, I know she was also able to understand English after her bonding."

Frost just blinked.

"Will you tell me now what made you ill Tom?"

"Interested in that aren't you? Well I'll have to give a little history. When I was younger I was of a political mind." At Frosts questioning look he clarified, "I wanted to be one of the Wizards who governed all the Wizarding nests."

"Ahhh."

"Anyway, my ideas were not well received to put it mildly and I made some enemies, one of them being Albus Dumbledore."

Tom noticed the end of Frosts tail lay over his thigh and that he was unconsciously stroking it with his left hand. He considered stopping the action but couldn't make himself do it. He couldn't remember having this compulsion to touch Nagini.

"Dumbledore was just a professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but he was from a very powerful pureblood family and had lots of connections. He used his influence to twist my work and vilify me. I had gained my own advocates, people who knew the truth and not the twisted version he was feeding everyone but he managed to sully their reputations as well."

"He got me blackballed from the Ministry and polite society but I refused to give up. I knew things had to change so I moved behind the scenes. I met with Wizards at parties thrown by my supporters and convinced more and more to listen."

Tom paused, taking a sip from the glass of vitamin enhanced water on his bedside table.

"Now Dumbledore had defeated the last great Dark Wizard Grindenwald, which is one of the reasons he had so much political pull. He was a hero and I was a nobody, a mudblood orphan; powerful magically but still a nobody. But people were still listening to me and as the number of my supporters grew, Dumbledore hatched a plan to get rid of me and cement his control of the Wizarding World."

"When I was twenty-five years old he came to me speaking of working together. 'Walking the path of compromise together' he called it until he had me alone. Then he cursed me – a curse created by the Dumbledore family and unheard of outside them."

"And it made you ill," Frost inquired.

Tom laughed ruefully. "In a manner of speaking – it made me crazy. It turned me into a bloodthirsty lunatic whose only ambition was to take over the Wizarding World using whatever means necessary. I tortured and I killed…"

His voiced cracked and he took another drink of the water to give him time to collect himself.

"The curse was slow; so as to not arouse suspicion and my followers were drawn into the web of killing and torture just as slowly. They did not realize something was wrong until it was too late. I was too powerful for them to escape and by then their own crimes kept them from turning to the Ministry for help."

"I was dubbed the new Dark Lord and Dumbledore used his status and the Wizarding World's fear to become Headmaster of Hogwarts. From there he could touch the lives of every Wizarding family in Britain. He began grooming his followers from the first year, gaining their trust and support, instilling his own ideals. He used his harmless old man image to misdirect any suspicion of possible wrong doing and his reputation as a hero to keep the reigns of control outside the school. I'm told the current Minister of Magic owls him every day for advice."

"But then something happened. The raids made by the Dark Lord began to slow and reduce in savagery. I was getting better, the curse losing its affect; something that had apparently never happened before from what I've learned. Dumbledore did some research and discovered what had happened."

"What?"

"My soul mate had been born. They were powerful and they had to be close for their influence to be so profound. So he did more digging and found the child. Well he couldn't very well kill off a baby now could he? But if he could arrange it that the Dark Lord did it, so much the better. So he plotted and planned and leaked a false prophecy. The prophecy declared that a child born on a certain date would destroy me."

Frost had crawled into his lap and Tom found himself gazing into his familiar's eyes while he spoke, still stroking his soft scales. For some reason contact with the Syren was dulling the pain caused by these particular memories.

"Well when I heard the prophecy, all the progress I'd made flew out of the window. I was livid and decided I had to destroy the child before it could grow up and challenge me."

"And then?"

"Dumbledore had a spy in my ranks that I was unaware of and the man conveniently discovered the location of the child, his story was so believable at the time. And so I went to the house and killed Lilly and James Potter."

Frost hissed but Tom kept talking as if in a trance.

"I remember standing over Harry's crib looking down at him. He looked up at me with those beautiful green eyes and smiled. He lifted his little hands up to me as if he knew me…Part of me was screaming that I couldn't do this, that it was wrong but the curse…the curse fueled the insanity until it raged across my mind, burning away that little piece of reason. So I cast the killing curse."

Frost was silent and Tom gave a choked laugh.

"It's funny in a way, all of Dumbledore's plotting and he forgot one single little detail."

"What," the Syren asked quietly.

"Soul mates cannot kill each other – it is impossible. So the curse rebounded, scarring Harry's forehead and obliterating my body but not killing me either. He was hailed as the savior of the Wizarding World, the Boy-Who- Lived and for ten years my insane spirit wandered, plotting my revenge. I would possess animals and weak minded people sometimes to keep my strength."

"Five years ago I possessed a Wizard named Quirril who was a teacher at Hogwarts. I used him to steal the Sorcerer's Stone from Dumbledore which strengthened me even more. My most loyal follower – my friend – Severus helped me escape the school with the stone when the Headmaster killed Quirril."

He also managed to break the curse and regenerate my body – a fairly nice body I must say. But I am still weak, so many years without a physical form plus being cursed…and then the rigors of removing the curse and gaining a body. It is only this year that many of my followers were even made aware of my return. I've been slowly bringing them here to see I am no longer the monster I was."

"And what of this Harry."

"Harry…Harry was given to his mother's relatives – muggles. Those _people_," he spat the word, "starved and abused the boy for three years before they decided they could no longer be bothered with him and abandoned him in a forest. The only good thing Dumbledore has done was to have them thrown into Azkaban for life. I believe they had a son who was adopted by a squib…I should check on that. Harry might want to meet his cousin."

Frost appeared to be a little wide eyed. "Harry is your mate?"

"Yes. Did Oma not tell you?"

The Syren shook his head.

"That's why I need to find him. I want to love him, protect him. Merlin help him if Dumbledore finds him first. I want to spend the rest of my life making amends for the deaths of his parents and the abuse he suffered afterwards. By all that's Holy he grew up alone, in a forest!"

Tom dropped his head in his hands.

Frost watched the Wizard for a moment and then slithered onto his shoulders.

"He was not alone," he hissed, "Celeste raised him as her own. He has been loved and well cared for."

The Dark Lord lifted his head and looked at his familiar in disbelief.

"Truly?"

Frost nodded.

"I can truthfully say he had been happy."

"Will you tell me of him?"

"Yessss."


	10. Revealed

**Snake Boy**

**Chapter 10**

The month of Celeste and Frost's visit was eventful to say the least. Tom still considered it a visit – or an inquisition depending on the day – because for all that the male Syren was his Familiar, he could still leave. The bond between them would always exist but Frost was in no way compelled to stay.

Celeste seemed to take an inordinate interest in Severus, much to his friend's distress. She kept hissing something about his nose. The Potions Master was actually a bit phobic of snakes and it was a testament to their friendship that the man could compel himself to stay in a house with two such large specimens.

Frost on the other hand was absolutely fascinated by children. Most of the Death Eaters had children – Tom tried to promote large families instead of the single heir mentality that most Wizarding families had – and he encouraged the children's presence in the manor.

The Syren seemed especially fond of Avery's three little girls. The Wizard had secretly married a muggle man and Avery was currently pregnant with their fourth. At first the family had been leery of the large serpent but after Tom had translated a few questions back and forth they had all gotten along famously. The girls convinced the Syren to play catch with them, his wings adding a new dimension to the game. It had taken some time but Frost had managed to work himself onto Avery's very pregnant lap a time or two and then gushed for hours afterwards about feeling the baby move.

Apparently the Syren's greatest wish was to have a _very_ large nest with _lots_ of hatchlings. Tom joked that Frost intended to bring the Syren species back from extinction single handedly at which point the serpent would do a rather impressive pout.

When he wasn't playing with the children or trying to get into Avery's lap, the Syren would tell Tom of Harry's childhood. Most of the stories were happy but toward the end of the month Frost confided the events of the near kidnapping.

Tom was torn between anger and sadness for his mate. Even the Syren seemed distraught over the long ago event. Eventually though the serpent calmed and resumed his storytelling.

* * *

On the last day of their visit, Snape came into his chambers. Tom set down the book he had been reading to Frost.

"Yes Severus?"

"Lucius is in the throne room. The patrol from Blackstone found something…interesting."

Tom raised an eyebrow but stood and headed for the throne room, Syren on his shoulders.

Upon entering the room he found a ragged looking man, head bowed, kneeling between two of the younger Death Eaters. Lucius stood behind the three, wand drawn.

The Dark Lord took his throne.

"What have you brought me Lucius?"

The blonde moved forward and grabbed the man's dirty black hair with his gloved hand, using it to jerk the bowed head back and expose his face.

"Sirius Black," Severus hissed.

"Snivellus!" Black sing-songed. His eyes were heavy lidded like he was about to pass out and he swayed side to side between his captors. "Don't worry Snivellus, Moony can't get you. He's dead. Did you know? They're all dead."

Tom glanced at his friend and found him paler than usual. Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban Prison three years ago after being jailed there for twelve. Such a feat had never occurred before, nor had it been repeated since but from the way he spoke, tom supposed the man had been unable to escape the insanity that the prison was known to instill.

"What were you doing in Blackstone Forest Mr. Black?" Tom asked.

"Wanted to be close to my Godson, close to 'arry."

"And what do you know of Harry?"

"Well he's dead innit 'e? Dumbledore's sayin 'es dead and if Bumblydore says someone's dead then their dead and he prolly killed 'em. All dead…all dead."

Lucius released his hold and the ex-convict's head fell forward. Weak sobs could be heard.

"My little Prongs. That old bastard killed my little Prongs."

Sirius fell forward, collapsing weakly. His skeletal body curled into a ball.

"Who is he Tom?" Frost asked.

"His name is Sirius Black. He says he is Harry's Godfather."

Frost looked puzzled by the term.

"When Harry's parents were killed he should have been sent to this man's nest. It is apparently what the Potters wanted and he believes the boy is dead."

The Syren's eyes got big.

"He is Harry's nestmate?"

At Tom's nod, the Syren moved to the floor. When it was only a few feet from the fugitive there was a flash of light and the Dark Lord was looking at the back of a figure with black hair that trailed the floor. There was no sign of the Syren.

Tom jumped to his feet, wand drawn, as all the Death Eaters present also trained their wands on the figure. He moved around the perimeter of the room to get a look at the figure as it knelt by the oblivious Black.

It was a teenage boy with skin a pure unblemished white and he was completely naked. He watched the boy reach down and caress Black's forehead, crooning wordlessly. Black's eyes opened and slowly focused on the figure.

"Prongs?"

Black reached up and touched the pale cheek above him.

"Your eyes…" Black whispered harshly, "Lilly's eyes."

Suddenly the convict sat up and pulled the boy into his arms.

"Harry! My little Prongs!"

Tom sank to his knees as he caught sight of the lightening bolt scar on the boy's forehead. He felt Severus' hand on his shoulder as he watched Sirius Black rocking back and forth sobbing as he held the Dark Lord's mate in his withered arms.


	11. Face to Face

_A/N: I forgot to do it before - 'cause I suck - but thank you so much Aioakina for the gorgeous fan art you sent me! And thanks everyone for your reviews and support._

_As for some of the questions - I have seen other stories with white winged snakes in them - in fact the other challenge response 'Serpentine' has one called a Coatl. Mine is a mythological serpent from Arabia. I found it in a book called 'Giants, Monsters & Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth' by Carol Rose - I highly recommend this book!_

_And don't worry folks, there's still lots more to come..._

**Snake Boy**

**Chapter 11**

An hour later Tom found himself pacing in the hallway outside his chambers; occasionally he would stop and look at the door, wringing his hands, before resuming his pacing. Snape was leaning against the wall watching him, amusement plain on his face.

"What do I say to him?" Tom finally asked.

"I dare say he won't care what you say as long as you say something. Pacing around here certainly isn't going to resolve anything."

"You are right of course."

"Of course. And besides, if the boy didn't want anything to do with you, he would have left tonight without ever having revealed himself."

"What if he only showed himself because of Black?"

Snape snorted.

"You've met Celeste and Oma, correct? And from what you've said of the boy as Frost, they could have gotten the mutt and the boy together with no one else being the wiser. Harry _chose_ to show himself to you and you are acting like a ninny."

Tom stopped pacing abruptly.

"A ninny?"

Snape smirked.

"Most definitely a ninny."

Tom 'hurumphed' disgustedly and entered his chambers.

* * *

Meanwhile Draco was not having a good day. He was alone at his family estate having begged off going with his father to Riddle Manor over some captive. He liked Tom, really, but most of the time the man just spoke to Oma and since Draco couldn't speak Parseltongue, it was rather boring. 

"How the Hell had this happened?" he asked himself, turning side to side while examining himself in the floor length mirror.

He'd been admiring a new set of robes when he'd sneezed. Now he was setting in a crumpled pile of the aforementioned set of robes. He'd turned into a snake.

"Draco? Is that you my Draco?"

The confused Wizard turned but only saw Oma.

"Who's there?" he called.

"I am the only one here, my Draco."

Draco blinked, realizing with no little shock that it was indeed Oma that had spoken to him. He apparently now understood the snake language.

"Oma?"

"Yes, my Draco."

"I've gone and turned myself into a snake."

"I had noticed. And a very fine specimen you are, too."

Draco ducked his head shyly. This was not one of the fawning sycophants that followed him around in school and he was not used to honest compliments from anyone but his parents.

"Do you know what kind of snake I am? My father will like this development; I've never had any Animagus training before."

"You are a King Snake. I'd have said an albino but you've kept your normal eye color.

Draco turned back to the mirror and admired the light yellow markings that traced down his white body.

"Am I poisonous?"

"No. Humans like to keep King Snakes as pets."

"What?" Draco hissed, incensed.

"It is because they are so even tempered. I've met several King Snakes and I've liked them all. They are the most popular among the Serpent's Court."

"Snakes have a Court?"

"Of course."

Draco slithered closer to the Syren.

"Oma? What is that wonderful scent?"

"It is mating season for me."

Slowly he twined them together.

"Is it really?"

"Yessss…"

* * *

Tom found Harry perched on one of the two cushy chairs flanking the still burning fireplace. The younger man was kicking his feet back and forth as if he were a child of five, his head was bowed and he was still gloriously naked. 

"Hello Harry," Tom said softly, from only a few paces away.

The younger Wizard froze. After a moment he swiveled his head to look at the Dark Lord who couldn't contain his gasp of surprise. He'd been too far away in the throne room to see it, but Harry's emerald eyes were still slit, as they were when he was in his Syren form. The effect was startling.

"Hello Tom," he replied.

Tom cautiously moved to the chair opposite the young man and sat. Harry didn't move but watched intently, teeth worrying his lower lip.

"Did you mean what you said Tom," Harry asked, "Do you still want me as your mate?"

The Dark Lord smiled at the uncertain tone. Harry was rather irresistible when he was being shy and bashful.

"More than anything else in this world Harry. I think the real question is, however, do you want to be the mate of the man who killed your parents?" He raised a hand before Harry could answer. "I want you to truly think about this – it is not something that can be undone. In killing your parents I was inadvertently responsible for the abuse you suffered at the Dursley's and their subsequent abandonment of you. It is my fault you have spent the last twelve years as a Syren."

Harry's forehead wrinkled.

"You said when you killed my parents you were ill – cursed and not in your right mind – you were not lying. I could smell the truth of your statements. You also said that we are meant to be together and our magic has already bound us together. Everything is pointing me to you and I would be stupid to ignore this. I wish to mate and you are more than suitable, so let's mate."

Tom was a little dazed by Harry's reasonableness. In all the scenarios he had foreseen, this calm acceptance was not one of them. Harry's last statement finally penetrated and brought his thoughts up short.

"What? Right now?"

Harry stood and taking Tom's hand pulled him over to the bed.

"There is no time like the present, my Tom."

* * *

Draco lay on the edge of wakefulness, enjoying its warm timelessness. He floated in the dark, comforting embrace where nothing existed and nothing mattered. 

The young Wizard frowned as ripples of awareness penetrated his dark cocoon. He could hear hissing. Something about that sound pricked a memory but it didn't want to emerge from the sleepy sludge of his brain.

There was a slight movement behind him.

Groaning he managed to roll over, eyes still closed. He felt like a melted chocolate frog. He didn't think he'd every felt so loose, so relaxed. But something was fluttering at the back of his brain making him tense up. He could feel panic but there was nothing for him to be panicking about. Then the blonde realized that it wasn't him panicking – it was more like _knowing_ someone else was.

Blinking open his eyes he began to panic.

There was a girl in his bed, a _naked_ girl in his bed. He blinked again as she turned her tiny frame toward him. There was a naked woman in his bed, he reevaluated. Her skin and hair were perfectly white, making her seem like a beautiful statue carved from a single piece of marble. Her eyes were liquid silver with slit black pupils. Here eyes were mesmerizing; her eyes were wide with fear and filled with tears.

Draco shook his head and he was finally aware enough to hear her short staccato breathing. Then he made the connection.

"Oma?"


	12. Problem with Pigmies

**Snake Boy**

**Chapter 12**

Harry woke with an 'umph' as a hysterically hissing body hurled itself onto his chest.

"Hairy! Oh, My Hairy, thank the Winds that I found you! You have got to help me! Something terrible has happened!"

The young Wizard blinked sleepily. He saw his mate, eyes wide, propped up in the bed by one arm, wand raised in the other hand.

"It's alright Oma, I'm sure we can fix whatever it is," Harry hissed.

Tom looked at him in surprise and Harry blinked. He then realized he was not holding a Syren. Looking down he found a girl in his arms.

"Oma?"

"Yes Hairy, it is me! Isn't it terrible? Help me please!"

Harry looked to Tom in mute appeal.

"Draco, go fetch Severus and make sure he brings Celeste with him."

Harry had not realized the younger Malfoy had been in the room until he answered the Dark Lord.

"Yes Sir."

Harry stroked his sister's hair, crooning softly.

Severus appeared only moments later, still tying his dressing gown closed. Draco and Celeste followed closely behind.

"Mother," Harry hissed, "Oma has become human!"

Celeste slithered onto the bed, tongue flickering rapidly.

"Tell me what happened, Daughter."

"My Draco changed into a King Snake. He was not sure how it happened. We mated and when I woke this day I was like this! What has happened Mother? Make it stop!"

Harry rubbed the distraught girl's back.

Tom considered her words and then turned to the fidgeting Draco and bewildered Severus.

"What has happened Tom? Who is this girl?"

"She is apparently Oma become human somehow. Draco, tell me of yesterday's events."

Draco became intensely interested in his slippers.

"I was at the Manor trying on some new robes my Mother had gotten for me."

Snape snorted causing Draco to shoot his Godfather a belligerent look.

"Anyway, Sir, I sneezed and turned into a snake. I don't know how it happened and while I was that way I could understand what Oma said to me. She said I was a King Snake. There was a strange scent in the air and I…I…Oma said she was in heat and…and…"

"It's alright, my boy." Tom said gently, "I have found my self in a similar situation a time or two. The instincts that come with an Animagus transformation are very difficult to control at first."

Draco looked unconvinced.

"Trust me Draco; four out of five Animagus Wizards have done the same thing whether or not they choose to admit it."

Draco nodded and clearing his throat, continued.

"This morning I woke up feeling panic coming through our bond. I found Oma as a girl. It took a few minutes to figure it out and Oma was highly upset. I couldn't understand her anymore so I brought her here to you, My Lord. I thought you might know what had happened."

Draco had been watching the young man in the Dark Lord's bed curiously but kept quiet while Tom, Celeste, Oma and the boy hissed back and forth to each other.

With cajoling from her brother and mother, Oma allowed Severus to examine her and cast a few basic diagnostic spells. Afterwards he did the same to Harry.

"From what I can tell Tom," Severus began, "they are both perfectly healthy and perfectly human. They both have kept their Syren eyes and Harry has a long, thin patch of scales under each shoulder blade. Harry's traits are simple to explain as they are merely a side effect of being in his Animagus form too long. But Oma…Oma is actually Celeste's hatchling, correct? She's not a Witch in hiding or anything?"

Tom conferred with Celeste and then turned back to Snape and Draco.

"Oma is indeed a child of Celeste's flesh. She says that as a Pigmy-Syren, the rarest of all serpents, Oma requires the help of a Wizard to reproduce but she is unsure of what sort of help the Wizard would provide."

"I would say this is our answer," Snape mused. "I'll summon Poppy a little later this morning to cast an early detection charm on the girl; I needed her opinion on Black's condition anyway. Draco, I suggest you take the future Mrs. Malfoy to a guest chamber so you both can tidy up. One of the House Elves will get you both some clothing whilst we wait for Madam Pomphry and your father."

"M-M-Mrs…my father…What?"

"Tom watched his friend's hawk-like eyes pin Draco.

"Oma is most likely pregnant with your child. We will know for sure a little later. If she is, you will of course be married."

"Bu-bu-bu…"

The Dark Lord had never seen a Malfoy so disconcerted.

"Do you care for Oma," Severus asked.

"Y-Yes."

"Would you prefer to marry Ms. Parkinson?"

"No!"

"Have you developed an affection for another?"

"N-No."

"Then there is no problem is there," Snape quirked an eyesbrow at the sputtering boy.

"Bu-but she's a snake," he protested weakly.

"No Draco, she is a magical being. Think of it like being mated to a Veela."

"A Veela?"

"Yes boy." Snape sighed. "Now run along. You may consider teaching her a few things while we are waiting, perhaps how to say your name, or hers for that matter."

Draco nodded, looking more than a little shell-shocked but approached the bed. He reached out his hand and after a hissed conversation with mother and brother; Oma took the hand and followed the blonde from the room. Celeste followed silently.

Severus rubbed his hand over his face.

"If you will excuse me Tom, Harry; I'm going to check on Black and then summon Poppy and Lucius."

The Potion's Master quietly left the room.

Harry turned bright green eyes o his mate and hissed, "Well that was interesting wasn't it?"


	13. Lucius

**Snake Boy**

**Chapter 13**

Sirius Black was still unconscious in the small infirmary of Riddle Manor so Severus returned to his rooms and got dressed. He, along with the Malfoys and Poppy had private chambers while the other Death Eaters stayed in the various guest chambers when making extended visits.

A tap with his wand to the amulet around his neck sent a signal to Poppy that she was needed at the Manor. The Medi-Witch had joined the Dark Lord only six months after his resurrection. Up to then she had been a blind follower of Dumbledore – until she had caught the man trying to stake a half-vampire student in her hospital wing.

The old fool had concocted some tale about the boy trying to attack him or some such, and Poppy played along while secretly owling the boy's parents and having him quietly removed from the school. Afterwards the distraught woman had sought Severus out and they had discussed her doubts and suspicions. Eventually the Potion's Master had brought her in to help heal the newly re-embodied 'Voldemort'.

Poppy had been understandably dubious, Severus mused as he approached the Malfoy suite, especially with the insane ranting and violent fits Tom had been prone to in the early days but she had persevered. He believed whole heartedly that the only reason his friend was still among the land of the living was due solely to Poppy Pomphry's skill and determination.

Lucius answered his door in his dressing gown, although he still managed to look impeccably groomed and unruffled.

"Good morning Severus."

"Good morning Lucius. Tom and I require your presence in the infirmary. Draco has had an…unexpected side effect from the bonding with his familiar."

The change in the blonde was startling.

"Is he all right Sev? Tell me what happened to my Dragon!"

Snape quickly put a hand on the agitated man's shoulder.

"He is fine Lucius; he's fine. He is a little nervous about your reaction, but is uninjured and whole."

Lucius exhaled and his aloof manner returned. He did however, motion Severus into the room. The Potion's Master sat in an arm chair by the cold fire while Lucius began pulling on clothes.

"Tell me."

"Apparently Draco gained the ability to be an Animagus from Oma – a snake Animagus."

"Excellent."

Snape could almost hear the smirk in the other man's voice.

"Apparently Draco also fell victim to Oma's feminine charms."

He heard Lucius pause and then –

"Well that has been known to happen from time to time, hasn't it."

"Yes, so Tom has assured the boy. The problem, however, is that Oma is a pigmy-Syren and after their indiscretion, she turned into a woman. I theorize that the transformation is due to her being pregnant with Draco's child, but of course we won't know that for sure until Poppy arrives."

Severs waited and after a moment heard the 'thump' of Lucius hitting the floor in a dead faint. The Potion's Master smiled.

"Lucius, you are so predictable."


	14. Black

**Snake Boy**

**Chapter 14**

After a quick _Enervate_, Lucius and Severus made their way to the infirmary where Poppy had already arrived and already confirmed Oma's pregnancy. Tom kindly served as a translator between the girl and the Malfoys while the Medi-Witch conducted scans on Harry.

After confirming Severus' findings there as well she turned to Black.

The ex-con was suffering from prolonged starvation and dehydration, not to mention exhaustion. There were numerous lacerations and abrasions, many of which were festering. He had severe frostbite on his hands, feet and face as well as a raging case of pneumonia.

Severus had administered as many potions and healing spells as he was able to last night. Poppy seemed satisfied with Black's progress and after casting a few higher level healing spells, handed Severus a list of potions to administer to the man as well as what he could and could not eat.

"Well I'm off gentlemen, it's Gryffindor verses Slytherin today and I've got to prep the hospital wing for them."

"Still at each others throats, eh?" Severus asked.

"You know it will never change Sev. It's a little better since Draco was pulled out but Weasley feels the need to pummel any Slytherin within reach and with Dumbledore's support to boot."

"How is Sinistra handling it?"

"As best she can with the old man out maneuvering her at every turn. The little beast only winds up serving one out of every five detentions she gives him – Dumbledore sees to that. She'll never be the Head of House you were Sev."

The Potion's Master nodded sadly. He had retired from teaching a year after Tom's resurrection, ostensibly for health reason, but in truth so he could monitor the Dark Lord more closely.

During one of Tom's manic fits he'd escaped from his heavily warded chambers and dodged the house elves, finally managing to floo into Severus' quarters at Hogwarts. Severus had been in class at the time and had not known, so the crazed man had had two unsupervised hours loose in the school.

In that time Tom had, unbeknownst to Severus, managed to release the basilisk trapped in the Chamber of Secrets and start a three month reign of terror. Dumbledore had used the basilisk's presence to scare off many of the 'undesirable' students from the school, namely the half bloods and muggle-borns.

Ironically it had been a muggle-born, Hermione Granger, who had figured out that the monster was a basilisk and how it was traveling about the school. When no one would believe her she had tracked down the Chamber of Secrets and confronted the beast when it emerged again. The feisty second year had given as good as she had gotten and managed to mortally wound the creature before succumbing to her own wounds.

Ron Weasley had come across the unconscious Witch and the still twitching serpent. The arrogant red head had somehow concocted a rather weak story downplaying Hermione's actions and taking all the credit. In the end the boy had made it look like Hermione had almost gotten him killed with her 'need to show everyone else up,' as he put it.

The poor girl had transferred to an American School of Magic as soon as she was well enough to leave the hospital wing. She had been a thorn in his side but a brilliant and good hearted girl. He hoped her new school would wash away the taint Hogwarts had most assuredly left on her.

Snape blinked. The infirmary had emptied while he had been lost in his memories. Noting it was mid-afternoon, he rose and went about stripping Black down. The man was filthy and cleaning charms could only do so much.

He sucked in a breath. Knowing the man had been starving and seeing it were two different things entirely. He thought he could count every bone and there were scars everywhere. Black's skin was decorated by various symbols – Severus traced his long fingers over a few. The ex-con must have gone to a Summoner; the glyphs were demonic spells. He could identify a few; one was to prevent him from being magically tracked while another was the equivalent of a notice-me-not charm. He had no idea what the others were.

Gently he messaged the frostbitten hands and feet, relieved to see the black flesh starting to return to a healthy pink color. He found himself happy that he would not be forced to amputate a hand or foot and wondered at himself. This man had tried to kill him. This man, whose naked flesh lay so weak and defenseless under his hands, had made his seven years as a Hogwarts student a living hell with the taunts, the beatings, and the humiliating pranks.

Sirius had been loyal to Dumbledore by all accounts but he'd apparently killed his 'friend' Peter Pettigrew and a number of muggles on a busy street. He must have discovered that Peter had been the one to reveal the Potter's location to the Dark Lord but Severus wondered if Black knew that Peter had been following Dumbledore's orders that fateful night.

But what about the muggles? Had James' death broken his feeble mind even before exposure to Azkaban?

"Sev'rus?"

"Yes Black, it is me."

The Potion's Master set the rag aside. Using fresh water, a bowl and cup he began to wash the convict's ratty black hair.

"Was Harry here?"

He generously lathered the matted mess in his hands.

"Yes, he's gone now to speak with his adopted family."

"Tha's nice."

Black was clearly still not in his right mind.

Severus rinsed the soap out and then re-soaped the mass. This time the water was clear when he rinsed.

"Why're you washin' my hair Sev?"

"If I'm to tend you Sirius, I'll not have you smelling like something that died last week." He found he could not use his normal cutting tone of voice on the delirious man.

"Okay."

Gently Severus moved Sirius' head back down on the table and cast a quiet drying charm.

"I'm going to move you to a new bed now," he murmured.

"'kay."

Casting a levitation charm he gently moved the naked man onto a clean bed – the House Elves would clean up the mess on the other later. He spread a soft sheet over Black, leaving his feet and hands exposed. A quick warming charm on the exposed flesh would speed the healing process.

"You should sleep now Sirius."

"Wait Sev."

Severus sighed, this man caused too many conflicting emotions in him.

"What is it Black."

The convict's eyes were closed.

"Wanted to 'pologize to you…for school…thought if you hated me I wouldn't want you any more."

"What!" Severus was rather shocked.

The corner of Sirius' mouth quirked.

"Couldn't be a Gryffin-queer in Dumbledore's perfect world you know."

The Potion's Master ran a gentle finger down Black's cheek.

"Yes, I know. All too well."

"So…I'm sorry Sev."

"Me too Sirius, me too."


	15. A Potion and a Memory

_A/N: **READ FIRST OR BE LOST!** I had to change the order of one of the chapters in order to keep the flow and adjust to a new plot twist – thanks a lot Websurffer for starting a fight between me and my Muse – obviously the Muse won. J Basically Chapter 15 was originally 'Enemy' but now it is 'A Potion and a Memory' – 'Enemy' is now Chapter 16._

_So:_

_Chapter 15 – A Potion and a Memory (6/12/05)new_

_Chapter 16 – Enemy (6/07/05)_

_Chapter 17 – Little Red Werewolf (6/12/05)new_

_Thanks everybody who reviewed!_

**Snake Boy**

**Chapter 15**

A month after Harry's 'coming out' in the throne room, the Wizard in question found himself pinned against a hallway wall. It seemed his mate had a fondness for shagging standing up, well any way really, but against walls was definitely the Dark Lord's favorite.

In truth the young Wizard enjoyed his mate's behavior and the anticipation of these little ambushes kept him semi-hard most of his waking hours.

"Severus finished the potion today," Tom hissed.

"Did he now," Harry replied, leaning his head back and to the side as his mate licked his way down the pale column of his neck.

"Mmmm…yes…he finally managed to pull himself away from your Godfather long enough to manage it."

Harry moaned when Tom slipped a leg between his own and rubbed just _there_ with his knee.

"Shall we return to our rooms and…administer it then," Tom asked.

The-Boy-Who-Lived bucked his hips as the other Wizard pulled away.

"Lead the way," he finally managed to hiss.

* * *

Sirius moaned beneath the dour Potion Master's hands and Severus grunted. New muscles flexed restlessly beneath him, hips wiggling, legs stretching.

"Black! If you do not desist in this shameless display at once I will leave you to entertain yourself!"

"Aww. But Sev…"

"But nothing! It is uncalled for."

"But it feels _so_ good!"

Severus just stared at the convict.

Finally Black huffed and turned back to the wall.

"Fine. I'll behave. But I'd like to see how you react to a back massage after ten years sitting, sleeping and pacing on an uneven stone floor."

"Did you hear that?"

"What?"

"Just for a moment I thought I heard violin music."

"Hardy-har-har. You're a funny bastard."

"I try," Snape smirked as he resumed the massage.

"Will Harry be by today?"

"Hmmm…Doubtful. I finished their potion today."

"Oh."

Severus paused.

"Does it still bother you? Them?"

Sirius shrugged.

"It doesn't…but then it does…I guess part me hasn't shrugged off all of Dumbledore's influence yet."

"Old habits die hard, eh?"

Sirius chuckled.

"It's hard to think of someone Harry's age having kids, especially after everything he's been through."

Severus was quiet for a long while as he continued the massage.

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you."

"Oh?" Sirius half moaned when the Potion Master's nimble fingers stroked a particularly sore knot of muscle.

"When you were brought to the throne room that first day you said…you said Remus was dead."

Sirius went rigid and did not say anything.

"Will you tell me?"

"Are you going to laugh and say he finally got what he deserved," the convict questioned harshly.

Severus moved to the head of the narrow hospital bed and took the other man's chin in his hand, turning Black's face toward his own.

"I thought we were passed all that."

Blue eyes dropped to the floor, freshly shaved cheeks flushed with embarrassed color.

"I'm sorry Sev, you didn't deserve that."

"Yes I did, but that's not the point."

Sirius gave a small smile before turning back towards the headboard. Snape moved back down the bed and again resumed the massage.

"Did you know Dumbledore hired Moony to teach Defense the year I escaped from Azkaban?"

"No. I must have missed that."

"Around Christmas, the full moon of course, a student followed him to the Shrieking Shack."

"Merlin," Severus whispered.

"She was lucky, I guess, she only got bitten. Something in Remy kept him from killing her but it didn't save him. They put him on trial – beheaded him like an animal!" Black snarled the last word, fists clenched in the bed sheets. "Gentle Remus, he was the best of us all."

Severus ran his hands gently over the angry man's shoulders.

"I am truly sorry Sirius. I know how much he meant to you."

He just nodded.

"What of the girl?"

"Girl?"

"The one who was bitten."

"Ah. That's a bit ironic actually."

"Oh?"

"It was Ginevra Weasley."


	16. Enemy

_A/N: **READ FIRST OR BE LOST!** I had to change the order of one of the chapters in order to keep the flow and adjust to a new plot twist – thanks a lot Websurffer for starting a fight between me and my Muse – obviously the Muse won. J Basically Chapter 15 was originally 'Enemy' but now it is 'A Potion and a Memory' – 'Enemy' is now Chapter 16._

_So:_

_Chapter 15 – A Potion and a Memory (6/12/05)_

_Chapter 16 – Enemy (6/07/05)_

_Chapter 17 – Little Red Werewolf (6/12/05)_

_Thanks everybody who reviewed!_

**Snake Boy**

**Chapter 16**

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry stared down at a thick photo album frowning. He caressed the edge of the leather cover unconsciously. This book was a tribute to all of those who had died to support the cause, his contribution to the preservation of Wizarding history. For that was what he was doing, making history, and he would see these great Witches and Wizards lauded as heroes – even if some of them weren't in reality.

History was written by the winners and Albus Dumbledore was aiming for the 'jackpot', as the muggles said.

He sighed at the picture before him. James Potter, such a promising young man, ruined by that mudblood Evans girl. Albus had done everything in his power to free James of that _woman's_ influence to no avail and so he'd had to sacrifice his favorite student.

But of course the Potter's had not fulfilled that role either, just as James had not become the leader of Dumbledore's army like he was supposed to.

Their half-blooded spawn had survived the Dark Lord's attack, destroying Albus' carefully laid plans. So the old Wizard had compensated, after all improvisation is the truest test of genius; he had laid new plans – only to have those destroyed as well when the boy disappeared.

What was it about this _creature_ that defied all his calculations? Dumbledore ran his thumb over the giggling toddler's image.

Harry James Potter.

Soul mate to the Dark Lord, a disgusting-unnatural-homosexual-half-blooded-thing. Albus rarely admitted it to himself, but he was secretly relieved the boy had disappeared. He was unsure if he could have kept up the kindly grandfather image he portrayed around _it_. _It _defied the very laws of nature with its tie to another male – a male mudblood cur with delusions of grandeur.

The Headmaster closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Dwelling on the impurities plaguing the Wizarding world would only make him angry and prevent him from planning logically. He needed to focus on stopping these _things_ from being introduced and then he could weed out the existing ones.

He had finally allowed Minister Fudge to declare the boy dead and morale in the magical community was at an all time low. He needed an event to boost their spirits, something that would at the same time further his goals.

* * *

Dumbledore kicked the dead child's arm out of his path with a sneer of disgust. He was decked head to toe in a Death Eaters robe, his distinctive beard hidden under a layer of disguise charms. Around him the mostly werewolf village burned to the ground.

He could hear the shouts of his Aurors, similarly disguised, finishing off the remaining survivors.

Lord Voldemort would get the credit for this 'vicious massacre' of this 'commune for the afflicted', or some such nonsense.

A screaming woman staggered out of an alleyway and collapsed and few feet away, her flaming corpse still twitching. Dumbledore watched, impassive, as the fire grew. The corpse's flesh peeled away to reveal the muscle and bone beneath. Veins burst with audible pops and sizzles.

The werewolves had proved themselves unwilling to support either side of the war. As they were neither helpful nor desirable, Albus had made them _useful_. The destruction of the only werewolf commune in England would be attributed to the Dark Lord as retaliation for their refusal to join his 'Dark Horde'. Combined with the death of their 'Savior', fear would paralyze the Wizarding community.

This would allow him to push through several 'emergency protective acts'. These acts seemed innocuous on the surface, but they would sever to set the Wizarding world on the right path, his path. While this hadn't been the type of galvanizing event he had originally wanted, it would serve.

"Sir."

Dumbldore pulled his gaze away from the disintegrating corpse to focus on the disguised Auror before him.

"Report."

"All of the villagers are dead Sir, with a handful of the elderly being allowed to escape as per your orders, Sir."

"Vermin."

"Sir?"

"They are vermin, son, not villagers. This was a cleansing."

"Yes Sir."

"This was a good night's work. Gather your men, we're done here."

The man nodded and turned away. The elderly had been allowed to escape so they could tell others of what they had seen, after all there must be survivors to spread the fear and bear witness to the Dark Lord's wrath. The elderly had been chosen because they had only a few years left in them and were well past breeding age.

Dumbledore took one last look at the smoldering black lump that had only an hour ago been a living, breathing, talking, thinking piece of 'vermin'.

"Good riddance," he muttered as he apparated away.


	17. Little Red Werewolf

_A/N: **READ FIRST OR BE LOST!** I had to change the order of one of the chapters in order to keep the flow and adjust to a new plot twist – thanks a lot Websurffer for starting a fight between me and my Muse – obviously the Muse won. J Basically Chapter 15 was originally 'Enemy' but now it is 'A Potion and a Memory' – 'Enemy' is now Chapter 16._

_So:_

_Chapter 15 – A Potion and a Memory (6/12/05)_

_Chapter 16 – Enemy (6/07/05)_

_Chapter 17 – Little Red Werewolf (6/12/05)_

_Thanks everybody who reviewed!_

**Snake Boy**

**Chapter 17**

Ginny Weasley couldn't seem to stop crying. She was huddled in a rough blanket being held by her mother on the edge of the burnt out wreck that had been her home for a little over two years now.

Oh she still visited the Burrow but this, this had been where she'd learned to truly live and now it was gone.

Aurors were going over the wreckage looking for clues. A line of white sheets grew along one edge of village, taunting the young red head. He bodies of her friends lay there – or what was left of their bodies. The Dark Mark hung heavy and green in the air.

Movement along the tree line caught her eye. With a cry Ginny jerked away from her startled mother and ran to the wraith-like figure at the forest's edge.

"Dynah!"

"Ginevra," the old woman cried, wrapping the sobbing girl in her frail looking arms. "Hush darling, hush."

"Their all dead! Everyone!"

"Not everyone child, you and I are still here, aren't we," she asked lifting Ginny's face and looking into her eyes.

The youngest Weasley nodded.

"The Spirit of the Pack," the girl whispered.

Dynah smiled softly.

"Exactly, and soon you will come into your power and will be able to speak with them all again, so weep not cub."

She fell silent. The Aurors had finally noticed the old albino woman dressed only in a long white, sooty night dress. Mrs. Weasley was also cautiously approaching the pair.

Ginny gave a small smile to 'Mad-Eye' Moody. Despite his gruff manner and intimidating appearance, she knew he was a good man. He had advised her during Lupin's trial, tried to arm her the best he could against the prejudices of the Wizarding World. While he hadn't been able to save poor Remus, he had done everything in his power to protect her. He was the reason Ginny had come to live in Bizby Village and learned to live peacefully with her wolf.

She had learned that werewolves didn't have to be mindless violent beasts. Remus had been weak and sickly because he suppressed the wolf, thinking it was evil. Ginny had learned to integrate herself with the wolf. It meant as a human that the wolf was always present, enhancing her senses and influencing her behavior – but as a wolf, the human was always present as well, tempering those self same instincts.

She owed Moody everything.

Kingsley Shacklebolt however made her hackles rise. He was always proper and polite but something about him set the wolf on edge.

"Miss," He said, "Do you know what happened here last night?"

Apparently Dynah felt the same way about the large man.

"I would say it was fairly obvious what happened here, Auror Shacklebolt. Our village was attacked and all but a handful of us old folks were killed. Our Miss Weasley here was lucky enough to be visiting her family."

"Were there any others _lucky_ enough to be away from the village last night?"

Dynah looked at the man steadily, "No."

"Do you know who attacked you or why?" Moody asked. Ginny thought he was trying to defuse the almost tangible tension.

"It was very dark Mr. Moody. There were a large number of them and they were well organized. As to their identity – I don't know. They were cloaked head to toe."

"Death Eaters," Kingsley concluded confidently.

"I did not say that."

"Who else could it have been?"

"Anyone really; the Wizarding Community as a whole has never liked werewolves and were less than supportive when Bizby was formed thirty years ago. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has not shown interest in us since before his first fall. No…this was not his work, it wouldn't gain him anything."

Kingsley snorted in disbelief.

"Well I think we'll go with Death Eaters for the official report. Only logical really considering the Dark Mark still hanging over the village and the marked Death Eater corpse we found. I would still like to interview these others you say survived."

"They will not speak to you," Dynah said stiffly.

"Oh?" He arched a dark eyebrow.

"I speak for them and you have dismissed what I have to say. Tell your Mother goodbye Ginevra and come along."

Ginny bowed her head submissively, "Yes Ma'am."

She turned to the Weasley matriarch and smiled. Molly had been virtually dancing in place during the conversation, obviously wanted to snatch back her daughter and leave this destruction behind. Luckily Moody had taken the usually rather bossy woman aside after Ginny had been bitten and explained the complexities of werewolf social interaction. It kept Molly safe and whole and Ginny had peace of mind. The retired Auror had been a gift from Merlin these last years.

She embraced her mother," I love you Mum and I'll see you next month, okay?"

"Are you sure you won't come back home with me dear? You could be in danger, you-know-who may come looking for survivors."

Kingsley had moved away so Ginny said, "If Dynah says it wasn't Him Mum, then it wasn't Him. Besides, even if it were, my pack still needs me and so I _must_ go. I am the last Spirit Speaker. Without me the pack will lose its connection to its past and it would fall apart. I can't let that happen. I'll be back at the new moon like always Mum. I love you."

"I love you Ginny," her mother whispered as the younger red head pulled away and headed into the forest, Dynah leading the way.

* * *

An hour later they had gathered the other two survivors, Hodges who was the pack Omega wolf, and Lucretia, a Beta. Ginny and Dynah were both Alphas, leaders, and the albino wolf had been the leader of the Bizby Pack since its inception.

An hour after that they were still walking.

"Where are we going Dynah," Ginny asked, exhaustion pulling at her.

"To a friend's, Dear. He will be able to protect us while we finish your training and rebuild the pack."

"How much further," Lucretia asked quietly.

"It should be just…Here."

The trees ran right up to an imposing stone wall. Hodges was the tallest of them at just over six feet and the wall was at least twice that height. Dynah turned left following the wall.

After what seemed like an eternity to Ginny the small group came to a large intricate iron gate. A young man in simple black robes stood on the other side.

"May I help you Ma'am," he politely inquired.

Dynah nodded pulling back her sleeve and exposing her left forearm.

Ginny gasped at the Mark there.

"Tell the Dark Lord that Dynah of the Bizby Pack wishes to speak with him."


	18. Tea Room

**Snake Boy**

**Chapter 18**

Draco decided he had never been happier in his life. He stood in the doorway watching his very pregnant wife and his also very pregnant friend drinking tea and quietly conversing in parseltongue. Oma and Harry were wild creatures at heart, he thought, who had deigned to allow humanity to share their lives. Both of them glowed with their pregnancies – Harry's belly even more distended than his sister's for all that she was a month further along.

Sev had been unable to get any readings on either of the babies with his diagnostic spells, nor had Poppy. The healer had resorted to physical checkups which Harry and Oma strenuously objected to. Even these methods, when they could get the pair to submit to them, were inconclusive which worried Tom and Draco both to no end. Poppy and, oddly, Celeste assured them all that the children were fine and healthy or else the 'mothers' wouldn't be so obviously thriving. Draco sometimes thought that Celeste knew more than she was letting on.

He pulled his eyes away from the pair to admire the new addition Tom had built for the Syrens. It was based on a Japanese tea room, but a bit more practical. Cushions served for chairs and the few tables were very low. There was a massive wooden daybed-sofa, an obvious antique, also low to the floor and covered with a multitude of pillows and fur throws. The floors themselves were a light hardwood, highly polished, with a fire pit cut into the center.

"Hello Draco," Oma greeted in heavily accented English.

The younger Malfoy smiled and sauntered across the room.

"Hello, My Love. Don't let me interrupt; I just wanted to check in on you."

He bent low and kissed Oma lightly on the lips. He still couldn't believe this beautiful creature was his. Turning, he greeted Harry as well.

"Hi D-Draco."

Harry, for some reason, was having a much harder time than Oma learning English.

"I'll see you at dinner Darling," Draco murmured to his wife before quietly slipping out of the room.

* * *

Harry watched Draco with his sister and smiled. Oma had found herself a fine mate. To an outsider the younger Malfoy's visit may have seemed odd but it was a matter of course in Riddle Manor. Tom made sure that either himself or one of his most trusted followers laid eyes on Harry at least once an hour. Someone else may have found it stifling but to the young brunette, it was an affirmation of his safety.

"Where is Ginny this day," Oma hissed in parseltongue after Draco left.

"She and Dynah have gone to meet another family. They apparently have a very young son who was bitten by a werewolf and they want nothing to do with him. Our wolves will most likely come home with a new addition to our family.

The girl smiled.

"That should please you, Brother. The boy can play with our hatchlings later."

Harry returned the smile and took a sip of his tea, his thoughts turned somber.

"I am worried thought."

Oma waited for him to continue.

"Tom says that Dumbledore is too quiet. He has done nothing since Bizby five months ago and that is apparently rather unusual."

"Perhaps he is planning to do something about the Lovegoods?"

"Perhaps," the young Wizard murmured into his tea.

It was true that the Lovegoods had been causing quite a stir in the Magical Community. Mr. Lovegood was apparently a secret supporter of Tom and together they were using Dumbledore's own tricks against him. Mr. Lovegood ran a small newspaper called the Quibbler and while it was not a very prestigious piece of journalism, enough people read it to take notice of some very interesting articles that had started running after the destruction of the werewolf commune.

Every week the front page was dedicated solely to a victim of the massacre – pictures, history, quotes from friends, relatives and co-workers. While this might have served to make Tom look even worse than he already did, the paper was also running a column on page two of the paper called "Diary of Death Eater."

Tom had kept a journal up until Dumbledore's spell had taken full affect and now, once a week, he owled an entry to the paper. The entries were actually spelled to be unreadable until placed into print – a fascinating piece of spell work, that! - in order to give Mr. Lovegood 'plausible deniability' from the fall out of some of those entries. Tom had interacted with many of the Wizarding World's most popular personalities in his early days and his journal recorded sides of these people that the public had never even dreamed existed.

Mr. Lovegood had been questioned intensely – interrogated really – but no wrong doing could be proved thanks to careful planning. While the people in the entries were recognizable, their names were edited in the classic Victorian manner; for example, Dumbledore appeared only a D-.

Tom had even gone so far as to damage the Quibbler's offices and cast the Dark Mark over them the week the Ministry shut the paper down. Lovegood swore that his family was in danger if he did not run the entries.

So while the Ministry and Dumbledore did not like it, there was not a whole lot they could do; especially if they wanted to avoid any negative publicity.

"Haarrrryyyy," his sister called as she slithered up to him.

He still couldn't figure out how she did that in human form. _He_ was constantly tripping over himself, even before he had gotten pregnant.

"Are you still in there?" she teased.

He gave a small smile.

"I am sorry, My Oma, I was thinking."

"Well you know that rots your brain, right?"

Harry laughed outright at that.

"Why don't you show me this new trick you were telling Mother and I about?"

The dark headed boy smiled again and drew the wand sheathed on his left forearm. He actually had two wands, one on each arm. The one he was using now he had gotten from Ollivander's Wand Shop in Diagon alley a month ago. Tom, Severus and Lucius had taken him there, heavily cloaked, and it turned out that this wand was the brother to Tom's own. Needless to say his mate had been very pleased.

Ollivander, however, had noticed Celeste coiled around Harry's neck and shoulders and had immediately recognized her for what she was. After twenty minutes of being regaled about the use of Syren scales and feathers in wand making, Tom decided to commission a second wand for his mate. The core of that wand was made up of a wing feather each from Celeste, Oma and Harry himself. A branch from the tree sheltering the Syren nest in Blackstone Forest had provided the wood casing.

With this second wand he could cast spells in parseltongue and the magic was much stronger. While Harry was perfectly content to never learn the Wizard's tongue and only use the snake language, Tom had been adamant, even going so far as to threaten the loss of the wand if Harry didn't apply himself. So the young Wizard was learning English and Latin – _slowly_.

"Wingarium Leviosa," he entoned carefully, flicking his wand at his empty tea cup and levitating the delicate porcelain high into the air.

Oma clapped her hands in delight and laughed, "Excellent Harry!"

Smiling again he gently lowered the cup back to the table.

"I can do a few more spells with my other wand, but My Tom won't let me. He says my 'progress must be kept even' or some such."

The blonde girl gave him an almost annoyed look.

"Your mate wants you to learn the Wizard's tongue Harry and restricting your other wand is the only way he can seem to motivate you to do that."

"Hrumph. Sex would work to."

"Really?" Tom questioned from the doorway. "I'll have to figure out a way to use that little nugget of information." He nodded to his sister-in-law before kissing his mate's forehead.

"It is time for your nap, Luv, and I thought I might join you today."

Harry frowned slightly but nodded.

Oma, bracing herself on the low table, slowly rose to her feet.

"I suppose I'll go rescue Sev from our mother then. Between her and Sirius hounding him, it's a wonder he hasn't hexed them both."

Both men grinned and Tom said, "I think it is good for him – Sev has been alone too long as it is. And besides, I think he likes it."

Oma laughed as she left the room.

"Is everything all right Tom?"

"Yes Luv. It is annoying how tiring it is to _wait_. But from what the men tell me; our publicity campaign is starting to work. People are starting to pay attention to the actions of Dumbledore and the Ministry."

Tom helped Harry to his feet and together they curled up on the daybed.

"Mr. Lovegood tells me that an anonymous party asked to reprint my journal entries and they've started their own newsletter featuring them and the memories of others from that time period. I hear they even have a section called 'Howlers for Hogwarts' where old students of the school are listing abuses they suffered there. It seems that the Wizarding World is finally starting to wake up."


	19. End Game

**Snake Boy**

**Chapter 19**

Dumbledore tapped his fingertips on the wooden desktop in a rapid staccato of aggravation. The map before him should have caught fire from the intensity of his glare.

"Where is he?" he muttered to himself. He had always known, or always _thought_ he had known roughly where Voldemort based his operations, but a disastrous and highly embarrassing raid earlier this week had disabused him of that notion

Albus Dumbledore was currently a laughing stock. Between the Quibbler articles and 'Howlers for Hogwarts', he was no longer the untouchable paragon of the Wizarding Community. Combined with the raid…

At dawn two weeks ago, he and a large portion of the Order of the Phoenix along with a large group of Aurors had attacked what they had thought was the Dark Lord's manor. Many curses had been thrown, even a few Unforgiveables before they realized their error. They had attacked a private school for pureblood squibs and one of the children had been killed.

On top of all that, the child killed was a not so distant relative of one Ms. Amelia Bones, the Head of Magical Law Enforcement – who had not been made aware of the raid. To say she was enraged over the incident was a definite understatement. All of the Aurors who had participated were up on charges from Dereliction of Duty up to Treason in the cases of the senior Aurors.

Dumbledore hadn't even known such a school had existed. In his day squibs were quietly smothered in their beds once their state became apparent, not educated and allowed to spread their damaged blood.

There was only one thing that could salvage his reputation at this point – Harry Potter. Albus had heard a whisper of a rumor, a rumor that said the Dark Lord had the boy. Potter could save the Headmaster or destroy him, and to regain the respect he'd lost, Albus had to bloody well find the brat!

His fist crashed down onto the desk top.

Where?

Wait…the old Wizard squinted at the map where a drop of angry sweat had smudged the ink. Why did the name of that particular village ring a bell in the back of his brain?

Steepleing his fingers he thought, forehead crinkled in concentration until suddenly a beatific smile emerged and the twinkling he was so famous for returned to his eyes.

The village where Tom Riddle grew up. Could that madman have returned to the orphanage he had so hated? He'd thought Tom had burned that place to the ground but the Headmaster had never actually gone and seen for sure.

Perhaps he and a few of the loyal Aurors he had left would go and check…

* * *

Harry woke from his nap with a start. At eight months pregnant he swore all he did was eat, sleep and pee – and he was going to hex whoever that was gallivanting up and down the halls.

Turning his head to the open door of his Tea Room he watched his mother slither into the doorway.

"That dratted _man_ woke you, I'm sorry My Harry. Sirius is trying to play some kind of 'tag' game with My Severus, whatever that is, and now their running all over the nest. Worse than two year old hatchlings, they are!"

Harry watched as Severus stalked past the doorway with a rather interesting smirk across his face.

Celeste sighed.

"I am going to hunt, My Harry. If I know that look, and believe me I do, Severus is going to be shagging your Godfather into the floor shortly."

The Syren slithered off, leaving Harry quietly laughing at his dignified parent using the word 'shagging'.

Casting a _Tempus_ spell, which was pretty much the limit of his spell casting ability so close to the end of his pregnancy, he decided to stay right where he was for a bit longer. Tom was due back in another half hour or so and Harry chose to doze and take his evening walk later with his mate.

The loss of his magic bothered the young Wizard quite a bit, especially since he had just gotten started using it, but Poppy insisted it was normal. The levitation spell he'd demonstrated for Oma three months ago was a very weak spell, but it was as far as he'd been able to go in his training and that same spell was now beyond his limited capabilities. The Medi-Witch assured him his powers would return after the birth and that it was a perfectly normal side affect of a male pregnancy.

Harry snuggled further into the cushions. It was now August, but thanks to a pendant with a permanent cooling charm Tom had given him, he was not bothered by the heat at all. He smiled sleepily. Tom's gift reminded him of his recently celebrated seventeenth birthday, the first he'd ever celebrated. The 'Dark Lord' and his 'Death Eaters' had nearly drowned the young Wizard in gifts; from the toys he'd never had growing up, to rare parseltongue tombs. He'd been shocked at first, but had then accepted their generosity with a hissing aplomb that had both surprised and pleased his mate.

His mate.

Harry frowned. He wished his mate would hurry up and bring his decidedly sexy self back home so they could go on Harry's mandatory evening constitutional and then go straight back to bed.

In truth, the Tea Room was the only room in the manor still fully furnished. They were moving and this would be the last night they would spend here. Apparently Dumbledore was actually looking for them, something he'd never done before, and while the Manor was hidden under layer upon layer of spells Tom was worried his old teacher would find them.

That's where Tom and most of the Death Eater were now, finishing the wards at their new home while the house elves popped back and forth with furniture and overflowing crates.

Oma had secluded herself at Malfoy Manor. His mother said that his sister was in the 'nesting stage' that came right before birthing.

Harry slowly opened bleary eyes when he heard someone approaching. There was no way Severus and Sirius were done _playing_, he could smell that it wasn't someone he knew and the lower level Death Eaters weren't allowed in this wing…

A tall old Wizard filled the doorway, wand in hand. He was wearing midnight blue robes with animated shooting stars moving across the material. A long white beard fell from chin to knees and his blue eyes were twinkling like mad.

"Harry…" he said, approaching slowly.

The younger Wizard had to force himself to stay still. This was Dumbledore. Dumbledore was in his home. Dumbledore was in his home where Harry could not do magic and where there was only a skeleton crew of Death Eaters on guard.

Somehow the Wizard had gotten into the mansion without setting off the wards. Harry had no way to alert anyone to the danger they were all now in.

The young brunette narrowed his eyes as Dumbledore moved closer. Blue eyes clashed with Green and there was a buzzing in Harry's head. His mind was flooded with images of his childhood – scenes with his Syren family, the attempted kidnapping, and his abandonment by the Dursley's.

Dumbledore was talking to him as he slowly moved closer but Harry could not concentrate enough to puzzle out the words.

Images of Tom, Sev and Sirius now filled his mind. It was like someone was sifting through his mind, looking for something – Dumbledore! Tom had warned him about this, Dumbledore was a natural Legilimens. The bearded Wizard dug around in people's heads and found the best way to manipulate them.

There was a faint shout from outside the manor and Harry felt the ripple of the wards. He sighed mentally in relief, Tom and the others would now know there was trouble and would come back immediately.

Dumbledore growled in frustration before lunging forward and grabbing Harry by the arm. Jerking the young Wizard upright, he released him again just as quickly with a hiss of shock.

Harry followed the other's gaze downward. The brunette wrapped his arms around his belly, realizing that Dumbledore's disgust filled glare was aimed there.

The old Wizard seemed to snap out of whatever thoughts had trapped him and again reached for Harry.

Harry, having no other weapons at hand reared back and bit.


	20. Ever After

**Snake Boy**

**Chapter 20**

Tom burst into the Tea Room, wand drawn, with Lucius right on his heels. He paused briefly, noting that his nemesis appeared incapacitated, his now dull blues eyes staring sightlessly at the ceiling, before circling the still body and taking the trembling Harry into his arms.

Rubbing his mate's back and whispering reassuring words to him, he watched Lucius examine their fallen foe.

"He's dead," Lucius sounded surprised.

"How?"

The senior Malfoy reached down and grabbed Dumbledore's cooling hand, exposing the blackened fang marks there.

"Something highly venomous bit him, I'd say." The blonde's eyes focused on the bundle in Tom's lap.

"Harry," Tom hissed gently, "look at me."

It tore at his heart to see fear in his mates slit green eyes.

"It's alright Luv," he reassured the younger man, "I'm not angry. Did you bite Dumbledore?"

White teeth nibbled on pink lips but Harry nodded, looking down again.

Tom caressed Harry's jaw gently, "Open your mouth for me, My Love."

The brunette let his jaw go slack so that his mouth opened a bit.

Tom clucked disapprovingly, "Show me Harry."

The younger Wizard sighed and then pulled back his lips and lower jaw. The move caused delicate fangs to descend from the roof of his mouth right behind his normal eye teeth.

Lucius gasped and Harry quickly shut his mouth and ducked his head.

Tom frowned at his friend.

At the same moment a slightly worse for wear Severus and Sirius stormed into the room only to stop and stare.

"Report," Tom snapped, annoyed with Lucius and becoming angry that his mate had been in such danger all alone.

"It looks like a small incursion, My Lord," Snape said stiffly, wiping the blood from his nose. "Sirius and I were locked in our chambers. They managed to penetrate this far into the Manor by not using any spells. It seems Celeste spotted the intruders first and took out most of the ones outside with her venom. The wards were not triggered until one of the Aurors panicked after finding one his companions body and cast a shield spell."

Tom nodded before giving the battered Wizard a peculiar look.

"You only just escaped from your rooms, correct?"

"And took out the whelp left behind to guard us," Sirius piped in.

"So how do you know what went on outside?"

Severus turned an interesting shade of pink and Sirius grinned like a mad man.

"It seems our dear Potion Master has been fighting the Familiar bond with Harry's mother all this time," the Animagus proclaimed, nimbly dodging his lover's strangling hands.

Toms lips quirked watching the two while still rocking his mate in his lap.

"I see you finally managed to avenge yourself," Severus said gruffly, not looking at anyone in the room.

"No. We have my dearest Harry to thank for that."

"But how," Sirius asked puzzled, fully away of his Godson's inability to use magic.

Lucius again displayed Dumbledore's dead hand, now completely black, "It seems Harry retained another Syren trait that we were unaware of."

Sirius still looked puzzled while Severus got rather wide eyed.

Tom cradled Harry closer to his chest, "It seems our little Savior is quite venomous, just like his mother," he said nodding to the female Syren as she entered the room and climbed up onto Severus' shoulders.

Harry suddenly tensed in his arms, hissing in pain and Tom felt his lap become drenched.

"Get Poppy," he yelled, running from the room with his hissing mate in his arms.

* * *

Four hours later Tom stood over the large crib bemused at the sight before him. His two perfect sons were curled into each other while his daughter was coiled around them.

Triplets, most unusual triplets, and yes his daughter was _coiled_ around his sons. The boys were perfect replicas of Harry in all his altered glory. They had his slit green eyes and scale patches on their backs. Celeste was sure they'd have wings just like Harry, and his fangs, although they wouldn't know for sure until they were at least three or four.

His daughter was apparently all Syren, only bigger. Size-wise, she looked like an adolescent serpent at three feet long, but she was indeed an infant. Celeste said she was most definitely a Pygmy-Syren and so would be able to take human shape but it was doubtful she would have the childlike visage Pygmies were known for. Tom just hoped his little girl would be able to change before she met her mate; he wanted her to be able to learn magic and go to school like her brothers.

The former Dark Lord looked over at his sleeping husband and smiled. Harry's joy at the birth of their children had briefly turned to fear when he'd noted their features – fear that Tom would reject them.

Tom admitted he had been shocked at first – who wouldn't be? – but he loved Harry and while their family wasn't normal, it was still a family. In fact Tom had every intention of making theirs a very large family – after all, they were almost halfway to matching the Weasleys already.

It would be difficult, but as he'd told Draco when Oma had become pregnant, it really was no different than being mated to a Veela and that was a widely accepted practice among Wizards. The Magical Community would adjust, they'd have too. As of today there were five part Syren children, his and Harry's triplets along with the Malfoy twin girls, and two adults and that number would only grow.

Tom grinned.

While he basked in the sight of his children and mate, things were falling into place all around the Wizarding World.

Dumbledore's body had been delivered to the Ministry right at close of office hours, so the rush of people leaving had come across the corpse as well as a projection of the man's last few moments of life.

The 'Dark Lord' thanked Merlin he had placed an experimental charm on the Tea Room, it worked like a muggle 'security camera' recording the events in a room and allowing them to be reviewed at will.

Tom had left a slightly edited version of events with Dumbledore's body playing in a loop, showing the Magical Community their leader's true face – over and over again.

He was glad Harry had not been able to understand the slurs Dumbledore had used, but their use displayed the man's true nature and Tom was happy to share what he'd always known. They could no longer defend the man; he had accosted a young, obviously very pregnant young man in his own home while hurling epithets and slurs at the apparently uncomprehending youth. It only added fuel to the fire that the youth was obviously Harry Potter – The-Boy-Who-Lived.

Tom had edited Harry's bite from the recording. Severus was even now drafting a statement on their behalf that would reveal Dumbledore's role in the last twenty-odd years of fear and attributing his death to Severus' loyal Familiar. There was no need to reveal all their secrets after all.

He turned to the door as Severus quietly entered. The Potion Master handed over several lengths of parchment absently, focusing on the sleeping children.

"A bit long isn't it?" Tom whispered.

"There are three versions of varying length," Severus whispered back, eyes never leaving the crib, "I'll let you pick which one gets sent to the Prophet."

"Thoughtful of you," Tom teased.

"Hmmmmm."

Tom grinned at the distracted man before him, "So can I expect a few Snape-Blacks to be running around soon?"

"Most likely," he replied absently.

Tom almost choked, which finally got the other man's attention.

"What," he asked, eyebrow raised.

The new father tried to clear his throat quietly, "You've never been all that fond of children, except Draco of course."

"Other people's children are unintelligent miscreants. My children, however, and yours of course will be well mannered and intelligent; what's not to like about that?"

Tom chuckled.

"We're finally free my friend."

Severus grinned, his face seeming to have lost ten years, "Indeed we are Tom, indeed we are."

**END**

_A/N: Well there it is folks - my first fanfic. Tell me what ya think! Thanks to everybody who reviewed, your support meant the world to me and keep an eye out for more stories:)_

_If you would like to see a rewrite of this (I know the writing was a bit spare overall) let me know - not promising anything but if enough folks think it could use it, I'll consider it!_


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